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UK: Man did not understand danger when aiming laser pen at helicopter

A 23-year-old man who shone a laser pen at a helicopter dazzling its pilot did not understand how dangerous what he was doing could be, a court has heard.

Cosmin-Iulian Alexa of Burton-on-Trent, a market town in the West Midlands, pleaded guilty to shining a laser beam at the helicopter on September 15 2019.

In a November 3 2020 sentencing hearing in Southern Derbyshire Magistrates' Court, Alexa said he had a lack of understanding of the consequences.

Alexa was sentenced to 16 weeks in prison. He could have received 12 months, but the prosecution suspended this because Alexa pleaded guilty and showed remorse for his actions.

In addition, he had an 8-week nightly curfew, had to pay £85 (USD $111) in court costs and a £122 ($160) victims surcharge, and had his laser pen confiscated.

From Derbyshire Live

UK: Six laser pen incidents in two evenings at Birmingham Airport

West Midlands police are investigating six incidents where laser pens illuminated planes landing at Birmingham Airport on May 20 and 21, 2018, between 9 pm and midnight.

In all of 2016, there were 73 laser incidents at Birmingham Airport, so six incidents over two evenings is especially alarming to the local police and the British Airline Pilots’ Association. Birmingham Airport police tweeted “Laser strikes directed at aircraft are extremely dangerous! They can distract or blind a pilot. It is also an offence under Article 137 Air Navigation Order 2009, endangering an aircraft.”

If the perpetrators can be found, they will face “a hefty jail sentence.”

From BBC News and Birmingham Mail

UK: 16 and 12 week sentences for two Birmingham-area men in "persistent and determined" laser pen attack

Two men from Walsall were sentenced September 2 2014 for up to 16 weeks in prison, for what a West Midlands police helicopter pilot called the most “persistent and determined” laser pen attack in his 14 years with the police.

Claudio Bruno, 48, of Bloxwich and Carl Keates, 23, of Walsall pleaded guilty to recklessly endangering the safety of an aircraft. Bruno -- said to be responsible for 90 percent of the attack -- was sentenced to 16 weeks in jail. Keates was sentenced to 12 weeks.

The two had been drinking when they began to aim a laser at the police helicopter as it was tracking a stolen car. The “repeated and prolonged” attack lasted about 25 minutes, 10 of which was filmed by the helicopter. Video footage showed that both men were fully aware of what they were doing.

Bruno told arresting police that it was a joke, but then said his actions had put the helicopter in danger. He had purchased the laser about six months before to point out constellations in the night sky. Keates said he did not know if the laser would reach the helicopter.

At trial, the defender said that Bruno, in particular, was terrified at the prospect of the court case: "His family say he has not been able to eat or sleep and has wept constantly. He is extremely remorseful, not for his position but for what he did. It was stupid, foolish and reckless."

During sentencing, the judge said "This type of case is one of the most difficult that a judge has to deal with because I have before me two men of good character but each charged with a very serious offence. I accept you are both very remorseful. You had both been drinking and no doubt thought it would be a jokey thing to do but it was not and it could have had catastrophic consequences."

From the Walsall Advertiser and the Express & Star

UK: Barrister expelled for aiming laser at police helicopter

A 27-year-old man was expelled as a barrister, for offences that included pointing a laser pen at a West Midlands Police helicopter in August 2011.

Mohammed Arif Riaz pleaded guilty to aiming at the aircraft. In June 2013 he was sentenced to eight months in prison, in Birmingham Crown Court.

The Bar Standards Board, acting on November 13 2013, also found Riaz had failed to declare criminal convictions that occurred in 2004. The Board said he acted with “astonishing recklessness” and “conduct discreditable to a barrister.”

From the Express and Star

UK: Man in parked car aims laser pen at West Midlands police helicopter

A 25-year-old man from Nechells, an inner-city area of Birmingham, was arrested August 6 2013 after he aimed a laser pen at a West Midlands Police helicopter. The incident occurred at 11:30 pm in Edgbaston, an affluent area of Birmingham. The laser beam came from a parked car. Ground officers arrested Abdulhamid Ansi, a factory worker, on suspicion of endangering an aircraft. A court date was set for August 21 2013.

According to the Civil Aviation Authority, there have been over 220 laser incidents in the West Midlands "in the last two years", as of July 3 2013.

Arrest report from the Birmingham Mail and West Midlands Police; CAA statistics from an earlier Birmingham Mail article

UK: Teen arrested for Wolverhampton laser pen illumination

A teenager from Wolverhampton was arrested for aiming a laser pen onto a West Midlands Police helicopter that was over Wolverhampton on January 8 2012. The 18-year-old was charged with recklessly acting in a manner likely to endanger an aircraft or person in an aircraft. He will appear in court on January 18.

From BBC News

UK: Teen jailed for 6 months for laser attack on commercial flight

A 19-year-old, whose lawyer said he had learning difficulties and was “immature,” was sentenced on October 20 2011 to six months in jail after pleading guilty to lasing a police helicopter.

On September 11 2011, the West Midlands Air Support helicopter was sent to investigate a report of a commercial flight that had been illuminated by a green laser. The police crew was themselves dazzled by a green laser, aimed from a car on the ground. They directed ground units to the car where Wayne Junior French was sitting. He admitted shining the laser at the helicopter.

The presiding judge in Birmingham Crown Court said French would have had a much longer sentence if convicted of dazzling the commercial flight. He said “I have no doubt at the time you didn’t think through what you were doing but it was a plainly deliberate act.”

French’s lawyer said French “does express genuine remorse and is absolutely terrified about custody. He hasn’t slept properly since he was arrested.”

From the
Birmingham Mail

UK: "High powered" laser diverts police from 999 call

A police helicopter answering a 999 emergency call was diverted by a “high powered” green laser pointer as it flew near Coventry on September 28 2011. The helicopter was searching for intruders in a woman’s garden. A 16-year-old man and a 33-year-old man were arrested on suspicion of recklessly endangering an aircraft.

An air operations supervisor said “such acts defy belief.” He noted that police can easily locate laser offenders and ground units can arrive “very quickly.”

The Cambridge News said that in 2010, there were five incidents involving lasers being aimed at the Cambridgeshire police helicopter.

From the
Coventry Telegraph and the Cambridge News

UK: Teen charged in 30-minute attack

An unnamed 17-year-old aimed a laser pen at a police helicopter for 30 minutes. He was arrested and charged with shining a light at an aircraft so as to dazzle or distract the pilot.

The incident happened May 18 2011 in the skies over the West Midlands area near Birmingham; the boy is from Warley (Birmingham Mail) or Sandwell (BBC). According to police, the pilot “used his skills to position the aircraft away from the beams during the ground attack.”

From the
Birmingham Mail and the BBC