DALLAS -A federal grand jury has indicted Steven Alexander Chavez, Jr., 23, on one count of aiming a laser pointer at an aircraft, announced U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas.
Today, special agents with the FBI arrested Chavez in Lubbock, Texas, where he had recently relocated from Garland, Texas.
According to the indictment, returned earlier this week in Dallas, on or about Aug. 24, 2013, in the Dallas Division of the Northern District of Texas, Chavez knowingly aimed the beam of a laser pointer at a Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) helicopter.
A federal indictment is an accusation by a grand jury and a defendant is entitled to the presumption of innocence unless proven guilty. If convicted, however, the maximum statutory penalty is five years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine.
The FBI, Texas DPS and Garland Police Department are investigating. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Lara Burns is prosecuting.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
