Man arrested for allegedly shining laser at helicopter

Police arrested a 19-year-old Costa Mesa man Friday for allegedly waving a laser pointer into the cockpit of a police helicopter.

Adam Christopher Andrews, 19, was arrested about 8:30 p.m. in the 1900 block of Rosemary Place after he shone a hand-held laser into the cockpit of a Costa Mesa police helicopter flying a routine patrol of the area, said Lt. Craig Epperson.

The helicopter’s flight was not disrupted by the incident, he said.

“There’s been a number of incidents where police officers and commercial aircrews have had their vision affected by lasers pointed at them,” Epperson said. “It’s incredibly ill advised and unsafe to do that.”

Prosecutors could decide to charge Andrews with a felony of a misdemeanor for discharging a laser at an aircraft, Epperson said.

In California, the offense is punishable by up to one year in county jail if prosecuted as a misdemeanor, or up to three years in state prison as a felony.

— Brianna Bailey