LARGO, FL – A 13-year-old boy from Florida has been slapped with a felony charge for allegedly directing a laser at a helicopter belonging to the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Department. The incident occurred around half past midnight on Thursday, near 7th Street Northwest and 11th Avenue in Largo. The helicopter crew reported being targeted by a green laser light.
The crew managed to keep an eye on the suspect and directed ground deputies to his location. A video released by the sheriff’s office captures a deputy in the helicopter instructing others to apprehend the individual, who was reportedly impairing the pilot’s vision with the laser.
Body camera footage shows deputies on the ground locating the young teenager. The boy reportedly confessed to shining the laser at the helicopter. Upon searching him, deputies discovered a flare gun equipped with a green laser in his jacket.
The teenager allegedly told the deputies that he deliberately aimed the laser at the helicopter out of boredom. While in the back of a patrol car, the boy was heard saying that he was unaware that the targeted helicopter belonged to the police.
The boy was subsequently arrested and charged with felony misuse of a laser lighting device. He was transported to the Pinellas County Juvenile Assessment Center. Under Florida law, knowingly and willfully shining, pointing, or focusing the beam of a laser lighting device on an individual operating a motor vehicle, vessel, or aircraft is a third-degree felony. The case continues to be under investigation.