3 Arrested for Pointing Laser at Helicopter

A hand-held laser was aimed at a Riverside sheriff’s helicopter Friday night, and three suspects were arrested at a home in Moreno Valley, according to the department.

The helicopter crew reported the laser strike around 8 p.m. and was able to direct police officers to a residence in the 2200 block of Bay Avenue, according to sheriff’s Sgt. Bill Guimont.

Officers contacted three suspects at the residence that were subsequently arrested. Rudy Giron, 26, Fernando Soto, 21, and Moises Estevez-Ayala, 20, were booked into the Robert Presley Detention Center on 10 counts of felony discharging laser at aircraft. All three were released on $5,000 bail.

Pointing a laser at a helicopter can cause temporary blindness in the crew, and law enforcement pilots often treat laser strikes the same as being shot at with a firearm.