Steve Farzam, who has a decades-long history of impersonating public safety officers, pleaded no contest Monday to a reduced set of charges stemming from accusations he posed as a firefighter during the Palisades Fire and repeatedly targeted aircraft with a laser, according to Los Angeles County court records.
Farzam, 46, entered nolo contendere pleas to 11 of the original 28 counts filed against him, with prosecutors dismissing the remaining charges as part of a plea negotiation. Judge Eleanor J. Hunter sentenced Farzam to three years of formal probation, with execution of his prison sentence suspended.
Under the terms of the agreement, Farzam was convicted on multiple felony counts including discharging a laser at an occupied aircraft, assault with a deadly weapon, impersonation of a public officer, carrying a loaded firearm in public, and six counts of perjury by declaration. A charge of assault with a deadly weapon on a peace officer or firefighter with great bodily injury likely — which carried some of the case’s most serious exposure — was among those dismissed…