NORFOLK, Va. (AP) — A Virginia Beach man has pleaded guilty to aiming a laser pointer at Naval aviators and their jets near Naval Air Station Oceana.
The U.S. Attorney’s office said Tuesday that 56-year-old Robert Bruce could face up to 20 years in prison at sentencing in October. Court documents say Bruce shined a laser at the jets from his Virginia Beach home over a period of months. Congress passed a law in February that specifically prohibits such actions, which threaten pilots’ vision.
Naval Criminal Investigative Service agents video recorded Bruce repeatedly directing his later pointer at Naval aircraft in flight and seized his handheld laser pointer.
