Clovis man gets prison time for flashing big laser at CHP plane

A Clovis man was sentenced in federal court Monday to six months in prison and three years of supervised release for flashing a large laser pointer at a California Highway Patrol plane, temporarily damaging the pilot’s eyes.

Jeremy Scott Danielson, 35, pleaded guilty in March to flashing the patrol plane 18 to 20 times with a powerful green laser. The pointer he used was the size of a flashlight and had a range of 6,000 feet – 40 times beyond the legal limit for a hand-held laser device.

Investigators noted that the laser pointer also is capable of starting fires and had a warning label attached to it.

The pilot and tactical flight officer suffered flash blindness and watery, irritated eyes.

“I keep thinking this offense was committed by a 12-year-old,” U.S. District Court Judge Lawrence J. O’Neill said. “But it was not. You could have brought the CHP plane down by blinding the pilot.”

This story was originally published July 18, 2016 at 2:19 PM with the headline "Clovis man gets prison time for flashing big laser at CHP plane."