https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/north-miami/article270248822.htmlwhat an idiot.
A North Miami man is facing state and federal charges after being accused of pointing a laser at U.S. Coast Guard and Miami-Dade County police helicopters. According to a federal criminal complaint filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court, Patrick Longsworth, remained defiant after being caught by Miami-Dade officers holding a laser pointer in his backyard last month, saying he did it to stop the choppers from flying over his house. Longsworth, 55, was arrested by Miami-Dade police earlier this month and released on a $5,000 bond. U.S. Coast Guard Investigative Services agents filed a criminal complaint against him Tuesday in U.S. Southern District Court. He could not be reached for comment, and it was not immediately clear Tuesday afternoon if federal agents had arrested him.
Pointing a laser at an airplane or helicopter is illegal because, although the beam is not strong enough to damage the aircraft, it can cause pilots to experience temporary blindness, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. If convicted, Longsworth faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison. According to the complaint, a Coast Guard helicopter crew reported being beamed by a green laser around 8 p.m. Nov. 22 as it flew about six miles east of Coast Guard Station Miami at Opa-locka Executive Airport.
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