A 38-year-old Vacaville man was arrested late Friday on suspicion of a laser strike on a California Highway Patrol helicopter.
Tyrel Frances was taken into custody shortly after the 11:28 p.m. and faces charges of discharging a laser at an aircraft and resisting arrest, Lt. Frank Piro, a Vacaville police watch commander, said Monday afternoon.
Frances is no longer in Solano County Jail custody and a search of court records did not show when and where he would be arraigned in Solano County Superior Court.
A social media post on the CHP’s Golden Gate Division Air Operations page indicated that CHP H-32 was aiding the Vacaville Police Department with a search, when, while orbiting, the helicopter was struck several times with a green laser.
The copter crew was able to locate the source of the laser and directed officers to the location, which was not indicated in the post.
However, a video recording by the copter crew showed armed officers arriving at a Vacaville apartment complex and taking Frances into custody.
The Penal Code makes it a crime to “willfully and maliciously” discharge a laser at an occupied aircraft while in motion or flight with the intent to interfere with its operation.
The author of the CHP post indicated that shining a laser at an aircraft is a felony in California in addition to being a federal crime.
However, while considered a serious crime, it can be charged as either a misdemeanor or felony, according to wording in the Penal Code.
