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Tampa Man Sentenced for Laser Pointer Incident
A 31-year-old man from Garland, Texas, was sentenced to 12 months and one day in federal prison for knowingly aiming a laser at an aircraft in Tampa, Florida.
Judge Elizabeth A. Kovachevich handed down the sentence to Jeremy Wayne Sumpter on March 24, 2015, for his guilty plea in the case.
The incident occurred on February 14, 2014, when aviation officers with the Tampa Police Department were flying in a Bell 407 helicopter during aerial patrol. They observed a green light illuminate the cockpit and observed the laser hit the helicopter four times. The officers were soon able to locate the suspect, who had been standing in the middle of the roadway.
As the officers turned the aircraft toward the suspect, he began to run into his residence. TPD officers made contact with Sumpter at his front door and observed a broken laser pointer on his coffee table. Sumpter admitted that he had been outside with a laser pointer and that there had been a helicopter in the area where he had been pointing the laser.
Sumpter also stated that he had destroyed the laser because he thought he was in trouble. Several other lasers were discovered in the residence.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Tampa Police Department. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Shauna S. Hale.
The FAA Modernization and Reform Act, signed by President Barack Obama on February 14, 2012, established a new criminal offense for aiming the beam of a laser pointer at an aircraft in the special aircraft jurisdiction of the United States, or at the flight path of such an aircraft. This Act was enacted in response to a growing number of incidents of pilots being distracted or even temporarily blinded by laser beams.
Sumpter’s sentence was handed down for knowingly aiming a laser at an aircraft, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 39A, a felony offense under federal law.
Defendant: Jeremy Wayne Sumpter
Criminal Charges: Knowingly aiming a laser at an aircraft (18 U.S.C. § 39A)
City and State: Tampa, Florida
Crime Date: February 14, 2014
Sentence: 12 months and one day in federal prison
Key Facts
- State: Florida
- Category: White Collar Crime|Violent Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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