TAMPA -- Two men are facing charges after two incidents in which police say individuals pointed lasers at helicopter and airliner pilots.
According to a Tampa police news release, the first happened over the I-4/I-275 interchange Friday night around 10 p.m. Tampa Police helicopter pilots say they were targeted by a green laser and flew in a different direction to protect their vision, while aiming their camera at the location. They notified police and air traffic control, and then spotted a man they say was sitting in Curtis Hixon Park downtown. Officers quickly found and arrested 21-year-old Gerald Perez.
The next night (9-18), police say a small plane flying over Tampa International Airport had just been targeted by a green laser. Law enforcement helicopter pilots went to the area and were targeted within minutes. Hillsborough sheriff's deputies went to a house in the 6800 block of Burke Street and arrested 33-year-old Dhaneshwar Sahadeo.
See video of the incidents below:
Photo: Tampa Police Department