Guy gets 14 years for a cat toy

[tangent4ronpaul]

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2014/03/california-man-who-lasered-two-helicopters-to-face-14-years-behind-bars/

California man who lasered two helicopters to face 14 years behind bars

Earlier this month, a Fresno man received what is believed to be the strongest sentence issued anywhere in the United States for firing a laser pointer at an aircraft—14 years in prison. His girlfriend was also convicted on similar charges, but she will not be sentenced until May 2014.

“To our knowledge, it is the largest sentence imposed in this type of case,” Karen Escobar, the assistant US attorney for the Eastern District of California, told Ars.

According to the criminal complaint, on a warm summer evening in late August 2012, Sergio Rodriguez took his green laser pointer and fired it at a passing helicopter from outside of his apartment. His apartment complex sat just about a half mile north of the west end of the Fresno Yosemite International Airport in one of the Central Valley’s largest cities.
...
In a March 2013 custody hearing before the judge, Rodriguez’ lawyer described the laser as merely a $7.99 device, powered by AAA batteries. It can be acquired at Wal-Mart.
...
Amongst California’s 34 non-coastal counties ranging from the Oregon border to Kern County (adjacent to Los Angeles County), federal investigators recorded 100 laser strikes against aircraft. The highest frequency occurred at Fresno’s Yosemite International Airport and Bakersfield Municipal Airport. That total reached 26 in 2013, a doubling since 2010.
...
In February 2014, federal authorities began a new $10,000 reward program that leads to the arrest of someone who shoots a laser at an aircraft.

FBI: New $10,000 reward if you report people who fire lasers at airplanes
The practice is on the rise: Feds recorded nearly 4,000 such incidents in 2013.
http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2014/02/fbi-new-10000-reward-if-you-report-people-who-fire-lasers-at-airplanes/

Remember Ragan's famous quip about if you want MORE of something, subsidize it!?
Laser pointers, the NEW drop gun!

Super-bright solar power plant blinding pilots around midday
Plant could be a hazard, but it's uncertain whether the heliostats have been fixed.
http://arstechnica.com/science/2014/03/super-bright-solar-power-plant-blinding-pilots-around-midday/

^^^^ NOT illegal, no one busted.

Just a couple of observations here:

Can anyone remember a single incident when this was an issue before 2001? I can't.

4,000 incidents in just 1 year... Can anyone remember a single incident when an aircraft crashed after having a laser pointed at it? I can't.

I'm betting that pretty close to 100% of these incidents involved police helicopters flying lower than other aircraft are allowed to.

http://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/lasers-FBI-640x480.jpg

-t

[MRK]

FBI: New $10,000 reward if you report people who fire lasers at airplanes

Holy cow. I need to fly back to the US and frame some patsy. Even considering the plane flight it'll be the quickest $10,000 I'll ever make.

[squarepusher]

It seems like low flying pilots should just have mandatory glasses that block lasers. Unless you launch a massive educational campaign I don't think people will know about this (unless there is a warning on the laser?). Either way, its a simple way for a terrorist to start causing damage with a $7 weapon it seems like they should have a way to prevent this.

[Mani]

Soooo...Is this an April Fool's joke?


I saw the article mention, "Laser strikes" and "laser firing" did they actually use those words? Like for real?


A laser strike? From one of those annoying laser pointers? Not a proton torpedo that could blow up a Death star. Not a turbolaser that a star destroyer could use to clear a path through an asteroid field while chasing a couple of rebel fighters. but a $7 laser pointer that annoying tweens play with???

Cmon. you got me. It's an onion article right?

[MRK]

I saw the article mention, "Laser strikes" and "laser firing" did they actually use those words?


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=voSpOrimkMY

With regards to the "cat toy," I'll share a funny cat photo. That's what the internet is for after all.

http://s2.quickmeme.com/img/6c/6cd7215b4ca4dc9a216d86bb05165af305b1657884546a7499 e5dfd712f7a5f9.jpg

[green73]

Another day in gulag America..



Can anyone remember a single incident when an aircraft crashed after having a laser pointed at it? I can't.
-t

Pretty sure no one crashed in Egypt.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RjaW3QM2Nb8

[pcosmar]

Can anyone remember a single incident when this was an issue before 2001? I can't.

4,000 incidents in just 1 year... Can anyone remember a single incident when an aircraft crashed after having a laser pointed at it? I can't.



-t

Nope,, But before 2001 Laser sights were not common. They were available but new to the market. They were pricey and mostly seen in Hollywood movies.

The sights got common at the same time that pointers and toys got common. (but no one can tell the difference)

It is not that they are blinding pilots,,, They Think they are being targeted by a rifle. (which is really stupid if you think about it)

[Barrex]

Why are you guys so surprised? Dont you remember all those Russian helicopters that Talibans brought down with "lasers" provided by US government.

[aGameOfThrones]

Rape your 3 yr old kid and get probation. kill people while in gov costume and get paid vacations. Be either a government employee or rich if you're going to do a crime.

[squarepusher]

Doesn't help that the man was Hispanic.

[AuH20]

Doesn't help that the man was Hispanic.

That classification probably helped him. White mundane is the lowest of the low in this country.

[tangent4ronpaul]

Nope,, But before 2001 Laser sights were not common. They were available but new to the market. They were pricey and mostly seen in Hollywood movies.

The sights got common at the same time that pointers and toys got common. (but no one can tell the difference)

It is not that they are blinding pilots,,, They Think they are being targeted by a rifle. (which is really stupid if you think about it)

I don't know. I was in college in 2000-2001 and the instructors had laser pointers. I remember seeing them at Staples going for ~$30. I've got a book written a few years before that on making holograms with one, and I've got a couple of - what are they called? Not quite a servo, more like a pair of front surface mirrors that move back and forth on one axis. So one is X and the other Y. Optically mount them so the laser beam first hits one and then the other and it creates pretty cool spirography art on the wall given appropriate inputs. I've personally been looking for a 5W HeNe for a while to build that project. Yet another one on the backburner, but I was thinking about a laser pointer for the job. They tend to scatter too much and are not really bright enough to do shows. The difference is that they got cheap. So cheap that they are now common cat toys.

Well, inflation had a lot to do with that too. 14 years ago, $30 was worth a lot more. Remember under $1 a gal gas?

-t

[pcosmar]

It is not that they are blinding pilots,,, They Think they are being targeted by a rifle. (which is really stupid if you think about it)


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DY0ZbTJrJI4

Ever seen Skeet Shooters using Lasers?

Do you understand why it would be stupid to use a laser sight on a moving target?

[tangent4ronpaul]

Completely!

-t

[kahless]

Just a couple of observations here:

Can anyone remember a single incident when this was an issue before 2001? I can't.

4,000 incidents in just 1 year... Can anyone remember a single incident when an aircraft crashed after having a laser pointed at it? I can't.

I'm betting that pretty close to 100% of these incidents involved police helicopters flying lower than other aircraft are allowed to.

-t

May not have happened but possible when you consider the effects of retinal damage which is permanent.

I want to see people get time for pointing lasers at people since it can cause permanent blindness and retinal damage depending on the device. But 14 years for putting at risk 6 people and possibly more out of ignorance is a bit much.

[chudrockz]

I recall that in the mid-late '90s when laser pointers first started becoming mainstream, my hometown at the time actually banned their use (I don't think they banned their purchase) within town limits. Seemed the local police didn't find it amusing to see a little glowing red dot on their chest from some prankster while they were doing a traffic stop. :)

[CPUd]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=51IKh38gPd8

[FindLiberty]

A Mil Spec Weapon might use invisible IR to damage eyesight.

It's delayed blinding effect would have to be used a few hours before
battle, unless it had some impressive "instant sizzle" power level.

The red wavelength would tend to focus slightly in front of the retina.

UV might do deeper, more permanent damage.

Lovely...

[GunnyFreedom]

It seems like low flying pilots should just have mandatory glasses that block lasers. Unless you launch a massive educational campaign I don't think people will know about this (unless there is a warning on the laser?). Either way, its a simple way for a terrorist to start causing damage with a $7 weapon it seems like they should have a way to prevent this.

No, if someone means real harm they will shell out for one of the the $100-$200 lasers; probably buying it used from an industrial recycling service. A little flash is mostly benign; annoying but manageable, but totally burned out retinas you aren't recovering from. Especially if you are flying a chopper.

Point being, a person who actually wants to do harm is not going to do it with a cat toy or similar level device. What would be the point in trying?

[CPUd]

http://i.imgur.com/19Jsib6.png


http://www.thinkgeek.com/product/1917/

[DamianTV]

It seems like low flying pilots should just have mandatory glasses that block lasers. Unless you launch a massive educational campaign I don't think people will know about this (unless there is a warning on the laser?). Either way, its a simple way for a terrorist to start causing damage with a $7 weapon it seems like they should have a way to prevent this.

I think it will unfortunately have the opposite effect. Same way as no smoking signs remind people trying to quit of smoking, or any news story about graffiti, they just encourage MORE of the same types of behaviors, potentially. What may happen with lasers and airplanes is it will be the new "cool" to be able to do it and get away with it. The more times a person "gets away with it", the "cooler" they are. The types of people that do this kind of shit will feed off of the reactions they can provoke. However, ignoring the behavior completely may cause shooting laser beams at aircraft to be as cool as shining a flashlight at the sun. Totally useless, no reaction, thus, no incentive to continue that type of behavior.

[KCIndy]

As I've mentioned before, I drive a semi. A few years ago I was driving through Albuquerque at night. A car started to pass me on my left, and as usual I tried to keep an eye on his location. Next thing I knew, someone was shining one of those "pointer" lasers right into my side-view mirror. Hurt like a sonuvabitch, and I actually did lose clear sight for two or three seconds.

All that being said, I think fourteen years in prison is pretty severe punishment for being an idiot, and offering a ten grand bounty for something that's damn near unprovable is both Orwellian and idiotic.

The problem will take care of itself. Sooner or later, these nitwits will get caught by someone they "shine" and will get the crap kicked out of them. Heck, I wouldn't mind doing some of that kicking myself. :)

[GunnyFreedom]

As I've mentioned before, I drive a semi. A few years ago I was driving through Albuquerque at night. A car started to pass me on my left, and as usual I tried to keep an eye on his location. Next thing I knew, someone was shining one of those "pointer" lasers right into my side-view mirror. Hurt like a sonuvabitch, and I actually did lose clear sight for two or three seconds.

Well, yeah, but you were also a heckuvalot closer than anybody gets to an aircraft. There is a big difference between a $7 laser at 15 foot and the same $7 laser at 1500 foot. Do not mistake me for justifying the stupid, I am not. This crap clearly should not be done. What an airplane pilot gets from 1000 yards away is not the same as the flash you got at 15 foot. Unless the plane-flashers are using industrial lasers. Which goes back to my original point.


All that being said, I think fourteen years in prison is pretty severe punishment for being an idiot, and offering a ten grand bounty for something that's damn near unprovable is both Orwellian and idiotic.

The problem will take care of itself. Sooner or later, these nitwits will get caught by someone they "shine" and will get the crap kicked out of them. Heck, I wouldn't mind doing some of that kicking myself. :)

[Danke]

As I've mentioned before, I drive a semi. A few years ago I was driving through Albuquerque at night. A car started to pass me on my left, and as usual I tried to keep an eye on his location. Next thing I knew, someone was shining one of those "pointer" lasers right into my side-view mirror. Hurt like a sonuvabitch, and I actually did lose clear sight for two or three seconds.

All that being said, I think fourteen years in prison is pretty severe punishment for being an idiot, and offering a ten grand bounty for something that's damn near unprovable is both Orwellian and idiotic.

The problem will take care of itself. Sooner or later, these nitwits will get caught by someone they "shine" and will get the crap kicked out of them. Heck, I wouldn't mind doing some of that kicking myself. :)

I don't think jail time is justified, except for a repeat offenders. But the newer high power lasers can and do cause temporary blindness.

[Anti Federalist]

Assault Laser Ban in 3...2...1...

[tangent4ronpaul]

Another day in gulag America..




Pretty sure no one crashed in Egypt.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RjaW3QM2Nb8

Pretty cool! so they drove the heli away with laser pointers? I missed that when it happened.

But WOW! - that clip should be an instant get out of jail free card, instant "not guilty" - looks like there are several hundred beams hitting that bird.

-t

[Warrior_of_Freedom]

Shining lasers into people's eyes should not be legal, green lasers are much more powerful than those kids toy red ones. If someone on the street was shining a green laser at my face, I would BUST his ass. Being terrorized by jerk kids as a kid myself back during the laser pointer fad, I say good riddance. You've got to be the world's biggest asshole if you're shining lasers into the eyes of pilots.

[Danke]

http://www.alpa.org/Portals/Alpa/laserthreat/PSALaserThreatAwareness.wmv

[Danke]

More reports I have read. Pilots are having damage to their eyes.

[kpitcher]

Looks like the multi color laser safety glasses are being used by LAPD at least.
http://www.laserpointersafety.com/news/news/aviation-incidents_files/08d31b035e0b93002dca9cd14041d650-209.php

[LibertyRevolution]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iVrJUbeuG44

[Weston White]

Two words: Eight Amendment.