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Dec 24, 2007 12:28 pm US/Pacific
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2 Arrested For Pointing Lasers At Helicopter
SANTA ANA, Calif. (CBS) ―
Two men were arrested for allegedly aiming laser devices at the same Orange County sheriff's helicopter crew in unrelated incidents, an official said on Monday.
Jose Alberto Rich, 52, of Garden Grove, was arrested shortly after midnight on Sunday, and Derek Hatch, 19, was taken into custody about 5:45 p.m., said the department's Jim Amormino.
The deputies were patrolling over Garden Grove when someone near Garden Grove Boulevard and Brookhurst Street directed a laser beam at them, Amormino said. The crew directed Garden Grove police to the area where Rich -- in possession of a laser device -- was found in a vehicle, said Amormino.
Garden Grove police also got information from the Federal Aviation Administration that a commercial aircraft was hit with a laser beam in the same general area, Amormino said.
About 5:45 p.m., the same helicopter crew patrolling over the city of Orange reported that someone had aimed a laser device at them, Amormino said.
The deputies alerted Orange police who went to Lemon Street and arrested Derek Hatch, 19, on suspicion of aiming a laser at an aircraft, Amormino said.
One of the officers suffered temporary blurring of vision during one of the incidents, Amormino said.
(© 2008 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)