EVERETT — Prosecutors charged an Everett man last week with shining a green laser pointer at a Washington State Patrol airplane.
In September 2020, state patrol pilots were operating an aircraft called “Smokey 3” near the Paine Field Airport in Everett. The state patrol often uses aircraft to provide “statewide aerial enforcement,” according to the state patrol’s website.
According to the charges, while maneuvering the plane, one of the pilots was hit in the eye by a green laser. The discharge of the laser allegedly “caused an impairment of the safety and operation.”
Both pilots put on glasses designed to protect against laser strikes. The plane then flew toward the source of the green laser.
The infrared camera on the plane determined the laser strike originated from the 4100 block of Hoyt Avenue in Everett, the charges said. The pilots noticed two men in a balcony area, one wearing a coat and one dressed in a green T-shirt.
Pilots were observing the house as one of the men flashed them with a laser at least two more times, according to the charges.
The plane crew followed the men and gave directions to state troopers on the ground. One man ran from the house and was “tracked by camera” into bushes in a parking lot near the house.
The 44-year-old suspect didn’t provide a statement to police. The pilots couldn’t tell which person on the balcony pointed the laser, but authorities found a green laser pointer in the bushes the defendant was hiding in, prosecutors wrote.
During the arrest, the suspect appeared to have trouble breathing. Troopers administered naloxone, a medicine that rapidly reverses an opioid overdose, and had him transported to the hospital, where a doctor medically cleared him to be booked into the Snohomish County Jail. He was released later that day.
Eyes of pilots at night are more sensitive to greenish-yellow light, making a blue or red laser appear dimmer, and less distracting, than a green laser. The trooper who was struck in the eye by the laser later reported feeling “abnormal pressure” in his left eye, and periodic white flashes in both of his eyes, court documents said.
Prosecutors charged the man with one count of first-degree unlawful discharge of a laser. It’s a rare crime in Snohomish County, but one that is seriously investigated because of the danger it poses to an aircraft crew.
In November 2022, two planes at Arlington Airport were targeted by a laser from Marysville, according to the Marysville Police Department. Officers arrested the man a month later for two counts of unlawful discharge of a laser.
According to the Federal Aviation Administration, there were 9,457 laser incidents reported in 2022.
The Paine Field laser-wielder had 7 previous felony convictions, including residential burglary and first-degree unlawful possession of a firearm, according to court papers. His arraignment is set for July 10.
Jonathan Tall: 425-339-3486; jonathan.tall@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @EDHJonTall.
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