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UK: 21-year-old gets 6 month sentence for Northumbria lasing

Aiming a green laser pen at a Northumbria Police helicopter resulted in a 6-month jail sentence -- and a missed career in the RAF -- for Jonathan Quantrill, 21, of Plessey Gardens, North Shields. Quantrill repeatedly aimed a green laser at the helicopter on August 22 2010, after drinking two cans of beer. The pilot reported that his night vision was degraded. He was able to lead officers on the ground to Quantrill’s home, where the 21-year-old was found with the laser pen.

At sentencing, the judge noted that although Quantrill was “a perfectly decent young man ... showing off your newly purchased laser pen to friends”, it was important to set an example: “Others should know if they behave as you did they are likely to go to prison.”

From
Chronicle Live