From Sandy Louey:
Roseville police arrested a 29-year-old man Tuesday for allegedly pointing a laser device at aircraft.
At 11 p.m. Monday, a Sacramento County Sheriff's Department helicopter pilot notified Roseville police that someone on the ground had pointed a laser device at a commercial airliner and at the sheriff's helicopter, Dee Dee Gunther, spokeswoman for the Roseville Police Department, said in a press release Tuesday.
The helicopter crew helped police locate the source of the beam at a home in the 100 block of Elm Street, Gunther said.
Balltazar Valladares (left photo) of Roseville was arrested on suspicion of discharging a laser at a moving, occupied aircraft. The charge is a felony punishable by up to three years in prison or a fine of up to $2,000. His bail was $45,000, police said.
Gunther said officers also seized a high-powered laser device.
Police said pointing a laser at an aircraft violates state and federal law because it poses a danger for flight crews, passengers and people on the ground.
Pilots can suffer a temporary loss of vision while operating their aircraft and vision problems and headaches afterward, authorities said.
On Sunday, The Bee published a story about the perils of shining a light into the cockpit of a helicopter or any aircraft.
About Comments
Reader comments on Sacbee.com are the opinions of the writer, not The Sacramento Bee. If you see an objectionable comment, click the "report abuse" button below it. We will delete comments containing inappropriate links, obscenities, hate speech, and personal attacks. Flagrant or repeat violators will be banned. See more about comments here.