A Chula Vista man will be released April 17 from a federal jail after serving almost five months for pointing a laser at a military helicopter flying overhead.
Michael Angelo Ramirez, 27, admitted to aiming the laser as the Air and Marine Operations A-Star helicopter was flying over Chula Vista on Aug. 19, 2017. He pleaded guilty Dec. 28.
Ramirez was placed on five years probation March 27 by U.S. District Court Judge Roger Benitez in San Diego. He could have received up to five years in federal prison.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Conover said the helicopter was near power lines and shining the laser into the cockpit created “an exceptionally dangerous situation.”
The laser caused the flight spotter to close his eyes. The helicopter altered its flight path, but the laser beam continued.
The pilot maneuvered the helicopter to identify the source and radioed it was coming from a white Jeep Patriot on Proctor Valley Road. Chula Vista Police found the vehicle and Ramirez was a passenger.
“This was a misguided prank, not motivated by anger or greed,” wrote his attorney, Jeremy Warren.
Ramirez was allowed to post a $20,000 property bond on Dec. 7 on condition he enter and complete a residential drug treatment program, according to court records.
However, he didn’t stick with the program and was jailed again after not meeting bond conditions.
Warren told the judge Ramirez had “a significant drug problem” involving methamphetamine and marijuana. He urged probation, saying he would return to his family’s business and productivity.
The prosecutor asked for a 6-month sentence. Ramirez has convictions for two drunk driving incidents. He is a graduate of Palomar High School in Chula Vista.
Ramirez told officers he thought the object in the sky was a drone and shined the laser at it, according to court records. When he learned it was a helicopter, he turned the laser off, he added.
The driver, who was interviewed separately, told officers he knew the object was a helicopter as soon as it he saw it, records say.
Benitez signed an order specifying Ramirez’s release on April 17 from the Metropolitan Correctional Center.
