ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – An Albuquerque man was sentenced to prison for aiming a laser pointer at a Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office helicopter and striking the cockpit over a dozen times.
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On Oct. 7, 2025, Jorge Armendariz, 48, aimed a green laser pointer at the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office Metro 1 helicopter while it was flying over Albuquerque. Armendariz aimed the laser at the helicopter from two separate locations, striking the cockpit more than a dozen times and hitting the pilot in the eyes, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Mexico.
The crew tracked the laser beam to a vehicle in a McDonald’s drive-thru and later to a nearby home. Deputies responded to the home and said Armendariz fled the scene…