BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. — A Palm Bay man is in jail charged with a felony after deputies say he pointed a laser at a sheriff’s office helicopter, temporarily blinding the pilot.
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According to the sheriff’s office, their helicopter was up Sunday evening assisting the Palm Bay Police Department with the search for a shooting suspect.
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That’s when deputies say 33-year-old Dean Beolet decided to shine a laser at the helicopter multiple times.
According to the sheriff’s office, the laser refracted through one of the pilot’s night vision goggles, blurring his vision to the extent that he had to hand control of the helicopter over to a Tactical Flight Officer who just happened to also be a pilot.
In addition to endangering the flight crew, deputies say the laser put the Palm Bay officers in danger because it interfered with the equipment they were using to track a potentially armed shooting suspect.
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The Brevard County Sheriff’s Office flight crew was able to direct Palm Bay police officers to the source of the laser where they found Beolet.
He was arrested and charged with one count of pointing a laser light at a driver or pilot, a felony.
Beolet is being held in the Brevard County jail on $5,000 bond.
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The pilot was checked out by an optometrist Monday and has since been cleared to fly again.
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