A 51-year-old Molalla man was sentenced Friday to six months of federal supervised release after admitting he aimed a blue laser and a handheld spotlight at an Oregon Army National Guard Black Hawk helicopter flying a training mission over his property in July 2024. Patrick Yeager Snell pleaded guilty in June to a federal felony charge of aiming a laser pointer at an aircraft, telling investigators he had grown irritated by helicopters flying back and forth over his land.
According to The Oregonian/OregonLive, the helicopter was flying at about 1,000 to 2,000 feet near Mulino State Airport, roughly 23 miles south of Portland, when Snell aimed the laser at the cockpit on July 1, 2024. The crew chief aboard the aircraft used its onboard GPS to pinpoint the address where the beam originated, and law enforcement responded to that location, where police later confiscated the laser pointer.
Snell admitted he used the laser pointer and told police he had asked another area resident to buy it for him, per the same account. He said he acted out of emotion and frustration, later telling the court, “I do feel bad, and I was wrong,” and adding that he “had no intent of harming anybody at any time.”
Prosecutors Warned of Catastrophic Risk
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica R. Keefer said Snell’s actions could have been extremely catastrophic, arguing that shining the laser put the helicopter crew and people on the ground at serious risk. A laser beam directed into a cockpit can cause temporary blindness, impaired pilot vision, and disorientation during flight, hazards the Federal Aviation Administration has illustrated in a video showing what pilots see when a laser strikes their windshield…