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Wales: Six month sentence for misuse of brand-new laser

A 21-year-old from Newport, Wales, was given a six-month sentence in a young offender’s institution for illuminating a police helicopter. Ross McDonnell-Jones had purchased a green laser pen on October 11 2010. The next day, he aimed it at the helicopter, which was at an altitude of 3,000 feet. The pilot “lost his night vision and had to tilt his head away from the light, causing him to lose sight of the instruments and putting the aircraft in momentary danger”, according to the prosecutor. The laser attack lasted about five minutes.

McDonnell-Jones admitted aiming the laser outside but said he did not see the helicopter. The pen was found hidden under a baby’s mattress in the man’s home.

From the
South Wales Argus