Pointing a laser at an aircraft can be extremely dangerous for those within the airplane. Laser pointers can cause distraction or temporary flash blindness to pilots and observers.

The airplane’s observer pinpointed the origins of the laser light and had a Kings County Deputy Sheriff directed to the location.

A suspect, later identified as 57-year-old Humberto Sanchez, was standing near an apartment in the View Road Apartment complex on nine ¼ Avenue in Hanford when a deputy contacted him. When confronted with pointing a laser at an airplane, he responded by saying, “Oh, that was your plane?”

The suspect, Sanchez, was taken into custody, and his laser pointer confiscated as evidence. Deputies booked Sanchez into the Kings County Jail on the felony charge of willfully and maliciously discharging a laser at an aircraft. Humberto posted bail and was later released.