BRILLIANT IDIOT’S LASER FLASHING DOWNFALL
So, a California funny man “thought it would be funny” to shine a laser at police. He flashed one at a police chopper just over a month ago. He was arrested, but only after a high-speed chase which ended when he crashes car. These laser strikes can prove deadly dangerous as they can cause disorientation for pilots. This puts every passenger at risk as well as anyone in range on the ground. But stupidity transcends common sense all too often, as is the case here. According to FAA reports, there are about 5,000 of these laser strikes each year across the United States. Yet this story might prove to be one of the most dramatically stupid to date.
FUNNY MAN FLASHES POLICE CHOPPER PILOT THREE TIMES
As per the recently filed documents of federal charges, the brilliant idiot in question is named Michael Vincent Alvarez. He had, from a distance, tracked a Fresno Police helicopter from the highway late last October. He struck the chopper pilot with a green laser, three times, momentarily blinding him. Fortunately, he did not lose control of the chopper and was able to resume his assignment assisting on a domestic violence call.
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But one of the more stupid aspects of these laser strikes is that the culprits give their location away as soon as they act. Such was the case here, as the recovered pilot immediately informed officers on the ground. That led to a high-speed chase after Alvarez, who attempted to flee away down the highway. His “flight” didn’t last long, with Alvarez crashing into the central divider on Highway 99. He left his vehicle on foot and fled thru a residential neighborhood, having only sustained minor injuries to his legs when he crashes car.
PASSENGERS DROPPED OFF DURING CAR CHASE, NOW WITNESSES
We can also add immediate witnesses to the stupidity here. Alvarez reportedly stopped his car, twice, to drop off people that were in the car with him, before he crashes car. Police say that one of them, an unidentified woman, told them she had been in the car with Alvarez . They head to a friend’s place when Alvarez “thinks it would be funny” to shine his laser at the police chopper.
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IDIOT WAS CARRYING DRUGS, HAD TWO FELONY WARRANTS
Normally, only a small fraction of laser strike cases get prosecutions that end in convictions as the charges can be hard to prove in a court of law. But Alvarez provided the witnesses to his own criminal stupidity. Next up Alvarez receivies treatment to his legs from the crash injures, they discover baggies of drugs hidden near his groin including marijuana, meth and cocaine. And police run his ID on a fingerprint scanner they discover he’s on the hook for two felony warrants. As it is, Alvarez faces up to five years just for the laser strike.