A Jefferson County man has been sentenced to federal prison for aiming a laser at a helicopter last year.
U.S. District Judge Anna M. Manasco sentenced 27-year-old Gabriel Lopez Mathews to eight months in prison for aiming a laser pointer at Jefferson County’s Star 1 helicopter, according to a joint announcement by Northern District of Alabama U.S. Attorney Prim Escalona and FBI Special Agent in Charge Johnnie Sharp Jr.
Mathews pleaded guilty to the charge in April.
The offense happened April 11, 2020, when Star 1 was assisting the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency in a nighttime operation to recover stolen firearms. While flying below an approach path for the Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport, the helicopter received numerous laser strikes from a residence below.
The helicopter’s tactical officer was able to determine the street location of the source of the laser strikes, which was relayed to the Birmingham Police Department. Birmingham officers responded to the scene but could not locate a suspect. However, they gathered information that later led the FBI to Mathews. Agents then obtained a confession from the suspect.
“Pointing a laser at an aircraft can disorient the pilot and cause the aircraft to crash,” Escalona said. “Laser strikes can be deadly, and individuals who put pilots and residents in the path of the aircraft in danger will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
Pilots say that a laser aimed at an aircraft at night is particularly dangerous, especially when they are wearing night-vision goggles. The beam is blinding and can disorient a pilot.
The FAA reported 5,663 laser incidents in 2018, down from 6,754 in 2017 and 7,398 in 2016. Last year, in 2020, the agency investigated 3,169 incidents including several in Alabama.
The maximum penalty for aiming a laser pointer at an aircraft is five years in prison.
The FBI investigated the case, along with the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office and the Birmingham Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Alan Baty prosecuted the case.
“It is important that people understand that this is a criminal act with potentially deadly repercussions,” Sharp said. “We also want to encourage people to come forward when they see someone committing this felony—one that could have terrible consequences for pilots and their passengers.”
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