The United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia recently announced four men have been arraigned on federal charges of aiming laser pointers at police helicopters after they were indicted by the federal grand jury in July.

Fredy Contreras, Daniel Maloney, Timothy Wilson, and Theodore Rowe are all facing federal charges alleging they aimed a green laser light at an Atlanta Police Department helicopter aiding in the search for a missing 6-year-old boy May 26, 2021, according to a July 29 DOJ news release. The helicopter was struck several times by the light. The pilot used protective eye gear and determined where the light was coming from.

“Pointing lasers at an aircraft is extremely dangerous,” U.S. Attorney, Ryan Buchanan, said in the release. “A laser aimed at an aircraft blinds the pilot and makes it difficult if not impossible for the persons in the cockpit to read their instruments. Persons who are found pointing lasers at aircraft will be prosecuted.”

Keri Farley, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Atlanta unit, said a laser light targeted at a cockpit can temporarily blind the pilot and prevent them from completing their duties.

Aiming a laser pointer at an aircraft is “a federal felony that the FBI and our law enforcement partners take very seriously,” Farley said in the release.

“These arrests on federal charges should serve as a warning that engaging in this dangerous and criminal activity is unacceptable,” said Todd Damiani, special agent in charge of the Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General, Southeastern Region, in the release.