Not too bright.

No taser for a laser?

What's the point of buying a high-power green laser pen, if not to shine it at other objects at a distance? I fail to see the attraction, generally.

Three years? Wow.

Remind me to never do anything that affects anyone else.

Sharks with naked foreheads wanted for questioning.

ichiban: Three years? Wow.

Remind me to never do anything that affects anyone else. attempt to blind someone who is operating a piece of machinery with a shiatload of people on board.

"after pleading guilty to those crimes and separate drug dealing charges. "

Kind of important information I think...

After checking TFA it looks like he's more likely to wind up in PYITA prison. Just sayin'

/scary lookin dude

GBmanNC: "after pleading guilty to those crimes and separate drug dealing charges. "

Kind of important information I think...

Yeahhh the reporter failed to say how much jailtime someone would have gotten for just shining the laser

Is this the same guy who pew-pewed the laser from, you know...the ground? If so, how the f*ck did they find this guy?

/drtfa

Frickin' sharks with laser beams!



/frickin' linked

Kneel before Zod

I believe this is what happened on 9/11.

I read it on the internet.

Noah's Arcade: Is this the same guy who pew-pewed the laser from, you know...the ground? If so, how the f*ck did they find this guy?

/drtfa

Helicopters. First one reported the general area then he shot the light into a police helicopter investigating.

Truly, you do something that brain dead, you need to be pulled away from society for a while before you operate some kind of heavy machinery or a car or heaven help us all, breed.

Listen. We've just left the Bush-Age-of-Terrorism era, and you did it during that time. A laser light in a cockpit. Could blind the pilot. Could blind the copilot. Yes, these are off chance hypothetical "chances". But. Due to increased levels of National security, and it doesn't matter worth a damn if you agree with them or not, that could be seen as a very serious threat...

...because ground control has to consider what you just did a SIGHTING LASER for a ground to air missile system or sniper rifle (would that work? Could a sniper round from a Beretta .50 cal tank stopper go far enough into the air while a plane is doing takeoff to cause significant damage? Dunno.)

Regardless of what it was or what you did, now security has to get involved. The cops have to pinpoint you. The feds have to seize you. Hell, even the local military team is probably roused from a sound sleep just because you thought it'd be funny to point a shiny light at a flying coffin filled with a hundred or so people. That's a lot of time, money, and crap-filled pants you just caused because you were trying to be "cute".

Oh, and air traffic might be diverted for a while because of it. Thanks for making me land at the wrong airport without any boxers to replace the ones I shat in while you convinced the pilot his plane was being targeted.

Should be blessedly thankful they didn't take your home and sell the property to cover the costs of your actions (not that it'd sell).

Three years? You're getting off, well..

...light.

Ashtrey: ichiban: Three years? Wow.

Remind me to never do anything that affects anyone else. attempt to blind someone who is operating a piece of machinery with a shiatload of people on board.

No, I think he got it right. The rule you're looking for is "Do unto others ... etc"

AkaranD: Thanks for making me land at the wrong airport without any boxers to replace the ones I shat in while you convinced the pilot his plane was being targeted.

Targeting lasers often use non-visible light, you can be painted and never see it. Enjoy you flight, don't forget your Depends.

I use my laser at toll booths. I've saved over $750 in a year.

You know that feeling of respect and admiration you had for the pilot who recently saved the lives of everyone on board that ditched plane?

Yeah, now think of this choad and how his actions could have taken down a plane in a populated area or caused a legitimate panic over possible "laser-sighted weaponry".

Jail time? He's lucky a pilot doesn't take him behind the shed and do what he will.

I use my laser at toll boths. I've saved over $750 in a year.

Geese? Yeah sure, geese.



/Sully should'a wore sunglasses
//indeed
///linked like an anchor chain

He got the three years for drug-dealing. He's lucky it's not more.
Headline should have read, "If you are driving around with drugs in your car, do not shine lasers into police helicopters."

Get high and play with one of those green lasers. It will fark you up. Just dont get it in anyone's eyes. If you're smoking enough you can see the laser beam in the air.

AkaranD: Three years? You're getting off, well..

...light.


YYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

Those prosecutors should relax about the laser beams.

AkaranD: Three years? You're getting off, well..

...light.

Three years in prison for......well......making some people scared and for possibly having a chance of potentially possibly blinding a pilot, maybe. Yea, that's fair.

The helicopter pilot told Cleveland police the area where the laser came from and when a pilot for the police helicopter flew over to investigate, he, too, was hit in the eye by a laser that was coming from a moving car.


He managed to not once, but multiple times he hit a fast-moving target the size of a quarter from a moving platform hundreds (if not thousands) of feet away.

Prison is a waste. This guy needs to be recruited. You're dealing with one of the finest sharpshooters in the goddamned free world. Hell, this guy may rival syndicate snipers with cybernetic enhancements and a diazepam drip.

/he can also curve bullets

What's fun, in my recollection, 'though this is through the haze of three decades, is get some buddies, some Lysergide and a buncha lenses, penlights and prisms and hang out in a basement some cold winter night. First smoke a crapload of weed to thicken the air optically, then play around with the stuff.

That mustache on him has gay or pedophile written all over it. In either case, I hope he enjoys prison.

Came for this:

Frickin' sharks with laser beams!

Will add this:

Mini-Me, quit humping the laser!

smcn

You win one internets.

Crap. Sorry, put the coffee squirrel into the wrong post. See story on coffee causing brain damage for context.

Yes, I drink coffee.

Dirty sanchez!

Well, there were drug charges, too. Just running with the headline I was a little pissed that this guy was probably being used as a cautionary tale. Of course, drug laws are stupid and actually harmful, but that's another thread.

AkaranD: Could a sniper round from a Beretta .50 cal tank stopper go far enough into the air while a plane is doing takeoff to cause significant damage?

Being that Beretta doesn't, as far as I know, make .50 BMG rifles, no. Also, .50 BMG won't go through most medium-armored vehicles, and certainly won't stop tanks.

You're probably thinking of Barrett, who does make such guns.

.50 BMG, like any just about any other centerfire rifle bullet, will certainly cause some damage to an airplane if you hit it. Hell, even .22LR goes through airplane windows (an acquaintance of mine brought some airplane windows [he was a plane mechanic] to the range one day, so we shot at them).

Will the bullet cause a "aw, crap, there's a hole in the plane, we'll need to fix that when we land...until then, adjust the cabin pressure accordingly" situation or a "ZOMG! We're crashing!" situation depends on where the bullet hits, and with what energy it strikes with.

Modern aircraft have numerous redundant systems, so even a perfectly aimed shot is not likely to result in catastrophic failure.

I'm not aware of a single incident where a .50 BMG rifle was used to shoot down an aircraft, even in military conflicts. .50 BMG machine guns used to (continue to?) be mounted on aircraft and certainly have accounted for some aircraft being shot down, but no rifles being fired from the ground.

.50s are used in military contexts to damage valuable material from a distance away -- a single, relatively inexpensive shot from a rifle into the engine of a parked enemy aircraft would keep that aircraft from taking off, rendering it useless. However, I don't think such events take place that often...it'd probably be easier and less hassle to just drop a bomb on the plane in the first place.

/.50 BMGs are quite misunderstood

OK, now HE looks like fun... where do i get busted in Cleveland??

/always love me some prison btich action

Lamune_Baba: The helicopter pilot told Cleveland police the area where the laser came from and when a pilot for the police helicopter flew over to investigate, he, too, was hit in the eye by a laser that was coming from a moving car.


He managed to not once, but multiple times he hit a fast-moving target the size of a quarter from a moving platform hundreds (if not thousands) of feet away.


It's actually more plausible than you think--for one thing, the high-power laser pointers, at that distance, would probably not even be visible to the pilot unless the user shone it in his eye. By virtue of the fact that the cops spotted him, the story is consistent on that point.

The other thing is, these devices have a tendency to spread quite a bit when they hit something lens-shaped--for instance, a small area on a curved cockpit window. Working with a high-power pen laser in a lab (yeah, yeah... I was waiting for the real one to show up and just bought a pen laser to set up the optics), I was really surprised that a green laser pointer going through a lens with very modest curvature managed to paint a sparkling 3-foot diameter array of specular points on the wall several feet away.

So, it's probable that he hit the cockpit glass, the beam spread, and the pilot caught a bit of it. Even a specular reflection can be dangerous when you're talking about Class 3B lasers which correspond to high-power consumer laser pointers.

~Ben

Deal drugs and then just to make sure the authorities have the best possible chance of noticing you, commit some other stupid, gratuitous crime. Always the wise path.

heypete: AkaranD: Could a sniper round from a Beretta .50 cal tank stopper go far enough into the air while a plane is doing takeoff to cause significant damage?

Being that Beretta doesn't, as far as I know, make .50 BMG rifles, no. Also, .50 BMG won't go through most medium-armored vehicles, and certainly won't stop tanks.

You're probably thinking of Barrett, who does make such guns.

.50 BMG, like any just about any other centerfire rifle bullet, will certainly cause some damage to an airplane if you hit it. Hell, even .22LR goes through airplane windows (an acquaintance of mine brought some airplane windows [he was a plane mechanic] to the range one day, so we shot at them).

Will the bullet cause a "aw, crap, there's a hole in the plane, we'll need to fix that when we land...until then, adjust the cabin pressure accordingly" situation or a "ZOMG! We're crashing!" situation depends on where the bullet hits, and with what energy it strikes with.

Modern aircraft have numerous redundant systems, so even a perfectly aimed shot is not likely to result in catastrophic failure.

I'm not aware of a single incident where a .50 BMG rifle was used to shoot down an aircraft, even in military conflicts. .50 BMG machine guns used to (continue to?) be mounted on aircraft and certainly have accounted for some aircraft being shot down, but no rifles being fired from the ground.

.50s are used in military contexts to damage valuable material from a distance away -- a single, relatively inexpensive shot from a rifle into the engine of a parked enemy aircraft would keep that aircraft from taking off, rendering it useless. However, I don't think such events take place that often...it'd probably be easier and less hassle to just drop a bomb on the plane in the first place.

/.50 BMGs are quite misunderstood



According to my grandfather, he used a a 50 caliber machine gun to shoot down a German fighter as the plane was strafing the column of trucks he was part of. Grandpa said the gun was mounted on a ring on his truck. He also said his buddy used it to practically demolish a building that a German sniper was hiding in.

ilikechocolatemilk: where do i get busted in Cleveland??

Near the airport?

JustTheTip: According to my grandfather, he used a a 50 caliber machine gun to shoot down a German fighter as the plane was strafing the column of trucks he was part of. Grandpa said the gun was mounted on a ring on his truck.

I believe it. A machine gun is a completely different ball of wax than a rifle. With a rifle, you'll be lucky to get three aimed shots at a passing aircraft before it gets out of range...with a machine gun feeding ball and tracer ammo, you can adjust your shots "on the fly" and hopefully connect with a lot more of them.

My main point was that .50 BMG is not some magic plane-killer (hits with .30 caliber rounds would likely be just as effective at damaging a plane, as most airliners are not meant to repel bullets), and a rifle is not a suitable anti-aircraft weapon.

AkaranD: Truly, you do something that brain dead, you need to be pulled away from society for a while before you operate some kind of heavy machinery or a car or heaven help us all, breed.

Listen. We've just left the Bush-Age-of-Terrorism era, and you did it during that time. A laser light in a cockpit. Could blind the pilot. Could blind the copilot. Yes, these are off chance hypothetical "chances". But. Due to increased levels of National security, and it doesn't matter worth a damn if you agree with them or not, that could be seen as a very serious threat...

...because ground control has to consider what you just did a SIGHTING LASER for a ground to air missile system or sniper rifle (would that work? Could a sniper round from a Beretta .50 cal tank stopper go far enough into the air while a plane is doing takeoff to cause significant damage? Dunno.)

Regardless of what it was or what you did, now security has to get involved. The cops have to pinpoint you. The feds have to seize you. Hell, even the local military team is probably roused from a sound sleep just because you thought it'd be funny to point a shiny light at a flying coffin filled with a hundred or so people. That's a lot of time, money, and crap-filled pants you just caused because you were trying to be "cute".

Oh, and air traffic might be diverted for a while because of it. Thanks for making me land at the wrong airport without any boxers to replace the ones I shat in while you convinced the pilot his plane was being targeted.

Should be blessedly thankful they didn't take your home and sell the property to cover the costs of your actions (not that it'd sell).

Three years? You're getting off, well..

...light.

Oh just STFU

signaljammer: What's fun, in my recollection, 'though this is through the haze of three decades, is get some buddies, some Lysergide astroglide and a buncha lenses vibes, penlights and prisms ticklers and condoms and hang out in a basement some cold winter night. First smoke a crapload of weed to thicken the air optically, then play around with the stuff.


FTFY

Listen. We've just left the Bush-Age-of-Terrorism era
-----------

Ted Kennedy (a.k.a. Mr TSA) is still in the Obama administration.

farfigneugan: After checking TFA it looks like he's more likely to wind up in PYITA prison. Just sayin'

/scary lookin dude



Naw, not really. He looks like one of those douchebags who looks all scary and tough in front of the mugshot camera, and for added bonus he probably slapped a couple of Girl Scouts for their money and kicked a puppy, but put him in GenPop and he'll be somebody's Backdoor Betty in no time flat.

He did a cowardly thing by shining a laser from a distance, not get into a barroom brawl with anybody.

/Hell, I think I could take him and give him an asswhoopin'.

I guess I'll say the same thing here as I did on cleveland.com earlier today. I'm guessing most of the prison time is the multiple felonies for drug trafficking. He probably would have gotten 6 months if the laser pointer was the only thing he did.