Lemoore police officers arrest local man for shining laser at Sheriff's Office airplane

It was at about 10:30 p.m. that the airplane was on a routine patrol over Lemoore when a bright green laser lit up the cockpit, blinding a flight crew consisting of a pilot and a Lemoore Police Tactical Flight Officer, for several seconds.

The flight crew, using an onboard surveillance camera, identified the person shining the laser at them as he was standing in the driveway of a home in the 1000 block of Oakdale Ln.  The flight crew summoned Lemoore Police Department officers who arrived on scene within minutes.

The suspect, identified as Victor Mena, was found with the laser in his pocket. Mena admitted to pointing the laser at the flight crew telling officers that he thought the airplane was a drone.

Mena was subsequently arrested and booked into the Kings County Jail on a felony charge of pointing a laser at an aircraft.

The Kings County Sheriff's Office takes the crime of shining a laser at an aircraft very seriously. The intensity of a laser, if pointed at an airplane, may blind the flight crew which could result in an accident. A laser can also cause permanent damage to the eyes of those inside the aircraft.

Flight crew officials describe the intensity of a laser strike as being equivalent to someone driving down the freeway at 100 miles per hour and someone pointing a bright flashlight directly into the driver’s eyes.

In 2014 a court sentenced a Fresno man to 14 years in prison for pointing a laser at a police helicopter. Additionally, all aircraft laser incidents are reported to the Federal Aviation Administration.