By Bill Lindelof
blindelof@sacbee.com
A man has been arrested on suspicion of shining a laser at a California Highway Patrol airplane.
Danil Martynovich (left photo), 21, was booked into Sacramento County Jail on a charge of discharging a laser at aircraft.
A CHP spokeswoman said that on Wednesday night Martynovich is suspected of pointing the laser about four times at the CHP airplane while he was at a home on Schoonover Street in Elverta about 11:20 p.m.
A laser, which the CHP said was thrown over a fence, was found when officers arrived on Schoonover Street.
A laser's beam can cause serious problems for a pilot. Physicians say that even for short exposure, it can cause temporary loss of vision.
Police officials say law enforcement aircraft could be more susceptible because they fly at lower altitudes than commercial aircraft, whose pilots might be better able to dismiss a laser as an annoyance.
A conviction of shining a laser at an aircraft can lead to serious jail or prison time.
A 30-year-old Roseville man was sentenced in September to three years and one month in prison for interfering with the safe operation of aircraft by shining a powerful laser on a commercial jetliner and a Sacramento Sheriff's Department helicopter.
Call The Bee's Bill Lindelof, (916) 321-1079.









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