Photo: EThamPhoto / The Image Bank / Getty Images
LOS ANGELES (CNS) - A 48-year-old Long Beach man was sentenced Thursday to six months behind bars for having pointed a high-powered laser at the city's police helicopters twice in January 2023.
Mark Allen Barger pointed the laser not only at Long Beach Police Department helicopters but at commercial airliners and private planes near the Long Beach Airport, according to the LBPD.
Barger pleaded guilty in October 2023 in downtown Los Angeles to two federal counts of aiming a laser pointer at an aircraft, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
The LBPD released an aerial video from its helicopter two years ago in which a laser is seen apparently emanating from a home below and flashing back and forth in the direction of the aircraft.
The department said Barger pointed the laser at their helicopter on multiple occasions, which allowed them to deduce it was coming from around the 1500-1600 block of Silva Street. Along with the FBI, LBPD detectives staked out the area on Jan. 18, 2023, and allegedly saw Barger come out of his home and point the laser at the police helicopter.
