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US: UPDATED - 2 years probation in May 2012 St. Louis helicopter lasing

A St. Louis area man was sentenced on April 11 2013 to two year’s probation, two months home confinement and 40 hours of community service.

On May 18 2012, Michael Brandon Smith, then 35 years old, aimed a green laser beam at a St. Louis Metro Air Support helicopter that was investigating a burglary. The beam illuminated the cockpit several times. The vision of the pilot and observer was affected; the observer later said he had short-term vision problems. Ground units arrested Smith -- still with the laser in his hand -- at his residence in O’Fallon, Missouri. The incident diverted the helicopter from the burglary investigation.

Smith pleaded guilty in federal court in November 2012 to one felony count of aiming the beam of a laser pointer at an aircraft.

From STLtoday.com and The Republic. The story was originally briefly reported in LaserPointerSafety.com.

US: UPDATED - St. Louis man indicted, faces 5 years for lasing police helicopter

Michael Brandon Smith was indicted June 6 2012 on federal charges of aiming a laser at a Metro St. Louis Air Support helicopter. The 35-year-old resident of O’Fallon, Missouri could be imprisoned for up to five years and/or fined up to $250,000 if found guilty of the May 18 2012 illumination.

From KSDK.com, Riverfront Times, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Missouri

UPDATED April 11 2013: Michael Brandon Smith was sentenced to two year’s probation, two months home confinement and 40 hours of community service. A LaserPointerSafety.com story is here.

US: Authorities search after St. Louis-area laser incidents

Authorities are trying to find the persons who aimed lasers at aircraft, in three separate incidents on Memorial Day weekend. On May 27 2012, a helicopter was illuminated within three miles of Lambert - St. Louis International Airport. On May 28, a Delta Airlines flight about 12 miles southeast of Lambert was illuminated by a green laser at an altitude of 5,000 feet. A third incident happened in St. Charles County.

A KSDK reporter quoted a St. Louis County Police helicopter pilot as saying “just about everyone who flies gets hit with a laser pointer at some point.” It is not clear if the pilot is referring to police helicopter pilots or to all pilots. (A LaserPointerSafety.com analysis shows that in the U.S., the chance of a pilot seeing a laser beam on any given flight in a single year, as of 2012, is about once in every 14,000 flights. This is based on 50,522,825 operations at U.S. airports Dec. 2010 to Dec. 2011 according to FAA’s Air Traffic Activity System, divided by 3,591 laser incidents in 2011, to give one incident for every 14,069 operations.)

From KSDK and KMOV

US: UPDATED - St. Louis area man indicted for Nov. 2011 illumination

Brian David Monday, 30, of St. Charles Missouri was indicted February 6 2012 for aiming a green laser at aircraft in November 2011. Monday was charged with one count of interfering with an airplane and a helicopter. The maximum penalty is 20 years in prison and fines of up to $250,000.

Monday is president and CEO of Monday Restaurants LLC, according to STLtoday.

From CBS St. Louis and STLtoday. The original LaserPointerSafety.com news item is here.

US: St. Louis area man arrested for aiming at plane, helicopter

A 30-year-old man was arrested for aiming a green laser at an airplane and a police helicopter on November 4 2011. The incident took place in St. Charles County, about 20 miles northwest of St. Louis. Police directed to the suspect’s house found him with a laser in his hand. The case was referred to the FBI.

From STLtoday.com and STLtoday.com incident reports

UPDATE February 9 2012: Brian David Monday was indicted on one felony count of interfering with an airplane and a helicopter. The LaserPointerSafety.com news item is here.

US: Laser strike in St. Louis causes concern

A Frontier Airlines flight was illuminated by a green laser just after midnight October 7 2011. The incident happened as the plane was on approach, about 27 miles west of Lambert-St. Louis International Airport.

An airline spokesperson said there was no effect on the pilots. A police helicopter searched for suspects but did not find any. A St. Louis County Police Department spokesperson said county police are not investigating. The FAA and FBI were notified. STLtoday.com quoted an FBI spokesperson as saying the agency was not investigating because “no one was arrested and no one was hurt.” However, KSDK said the FBI was conducting an investigation.

St. Louis has been a focus since July, when local authorities held a media campaign to inform the public about the dangers and consequences of aiming at aircraft.

From
STLtoday.com and KSDK

US: Laser incident in St. Louis, one week after publicity push

A police department helicopter flying over St. Louis County was illuminated multiple times by a green laser beam August 3 2011. A news story states the “entire” cockpit was not illuminated, but a TV news report said the cockpit was “completely illuminated.” The person aiming at the helicopter has not be found as of August 6.

This incident comes just over one week after an FBI/police media effort in St. Louis to inform residents about laser/aircraft hazards.

From STLtoday.com and KSDK TV (which has a video report online)

US: St. Louis area publicity warns against pointing at aircraft

The case of a man arrested for aiming a laser at a police helicopter, was the subject of an FBI press conference for St. Louis-area media on July 26 2011. 26-year-old Justin E. Stouder of O’Fallon, Missouri, described how he aimed a green laser at a police helicopter on April 27 2010. One of the pilots said the illumination was similar to a camera flash. Stouder kept hitting the helicopter. Police converged on his home and he was arrested, spending the night in jail. Although Stouder was charged with “obstructing government operations” on May 14 2010, he successfully completed a one-year pretrial diversion program and thus has no additional penalty and no criminal record. (KSDK did note that Stouder “lost two career opportunities while his case was pending.”)


This screenshot shows Stouder at the FBI press conference where he apologized to the pilots. The full video is at KSDK.com

The conference was held to bring attention to the potential dangers of lasing aircraft. The agent in charge and the U.S. assistant attorney both stressed that the next person to be charged may face much stronger penalties than Stouder did.

From
stltoday.com. A video interview with the FBI agent-in-charge is available at Fox 2 Now.