A Buena Park man pleaded guilty Tuesday to pointing a laser at an NBC4 news helicopter as it was approaching Fullerton Airport and was immediately sentenced to 35 days of Caltrans road work.
Carlos Blancas, 36, was also placed on three years of informal probation. He pleaded guilty to misdemeanor discharge of a laser at an occupied aircraft. A laser light pointed at an aircraft can temporarily blind a pilot, endangering the aircraft and those on the ground.
The news channel’s helicopter, containing the pilot and one of the station’s cameramen, was on final approach to the airport Aug. 18 when a bright green light was pointed at the chopper, according to Orange County sheriff’s Lt. Jeff Hallock.
A sheriff’s helicopter crew tracked the laser to an apartment in Buena Park. Detectives obtained a search warrant and recovered the laser, Hallock said.
–City News Service