Man Gets Probation for Pointing Laser at Police Helicopter

A former O'Fallon resident was sentenced to probation being found guilty to pointing a laser at a Metro St. Louis Air Support Police helicopter in May 2012.

, was sentenced to two years of probation, two months of home confinement and 40 hours of community service. 

He pleaded guilty in November to one felony count of aiming the laser at the aircraft and appeared in front of United States District Judge Jean C. Hamilton on Thursday for his sentencing. 

On the night of May 18, 2012, Smith told O'Fallon Police he had been drinking and playing around with the laser when he pointed it at the helicopter. The Metro St. Louis Air Support Police helicopter had been dispatched to a call of a possible burglary in progress at a school in St. Charles County.

During the search, the pilot and observer were struck several times by a green laser. Because of the interference, the helicopter was forced to leave the scene. 

The helicopter then tried to track down the source of the laser and determined that it came from a residence in the 2700 block of Red Cedar Parc Drive South, in O'Fallon. The pilot and observer saw the Smith standing in his driveway with the laser. 

When O'Fallon police responded to that location, they found Smith with a laser pointer in his hand. He was arrested and the laser was seized. 

The police observer in the helicopter reported that he had some short-term visual problems as a result of the laser strike.