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A 19-year-old Gardena man who pointed a green laser at an airplane and two helicopters near Hawthorne Airport on Valentine’s Day is facing a year in jail and three years probation.

Enrique Felix Gomez pleaded no contest Monday to discharging a laser at an occupied aircraft. He is scheduled to be sentenced Nov. 2.

On Feb. 14, Gomez pointed the high-powered laser at a private plane that was preparing to land at Hawthorne Airport on Feb. 14 — the pilot’s girlfriend and family were also on board — and at Los Angeles County fire and sheriff’s helicopters, prosecutors said.

Two of the pilots said they were temporarily blinded.

The FBI offers rewards of up to $10,000 for information on people pointing lasers at aircraft and estimate that thousands of dangerous attacks go unreported every year.

— City News Service

Gardena man faces jail, probation for temporarily blinding pilots with laser was last modified: by

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