He pointed a laser at a police helicopter in November and on Monday a judge pointed Timothy Allen to state prison for eight months.
Last November, a police helicopter known as ABLE 3 reported being pinpointed by a series of bright green laser bursts that came from a home in southeast San Diego, the San Diego County District Attorney's Office said.
Around the same time, commercial jets on approach to Lindbergh Field reported green laser beams hitting their cockpits.
Police pilots were unable to find the source of the laser at the time.
They returned to the area November 26, 2009 and again took "strikes" from a laser. This time, they figured out where they were coming from, prosecutors said.
Allen was arrested and charged with two counts of discharging a laser at an occupied aircraft, a felony.
He pleaded guilty to the charge in January and was sentenced in San Diego County Superior Court this afternoon, prosecutors said.
“Laser strikes may seem harmless," said District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis, "but pilots take them very seriously.”
Dumanis hopes the case will "educate the public about the law and the very real dangers associated with this kind of activity.”
With their easy availability to the general public, "strikes" from such lasers have become an increasing problem for pilots, Dumanis said. Even low-power lasers can create distractions and even temporarily disable pilots if the timing is right.
Laser glare can make it tough for a pilot on approach landing to see the runway, the District Attorney's office said.
The maximum penalty for pointing a laser at an aircraft is three years in state prison.
In an effort to educate the public, the International Laser Display Association has sponsored a website that describes the risks and includes a video on the potential hazards.
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