Criminal charges were filed Wednesday against two Los Angeles men who were arrested on the Fourth of July on suspicion of pointing green laser beams at aircraft.
Floyd Atkins, 22, and Alvaro Jimenez, 20, are charged with two felony counts of discharge of a laser at an aircraft.
The two, who pleaded not guilty during a late-afternoon hearing in Los Angeles Superior Court, were released on their own recognizance and barred from possessing lasers.
Atkins and Jimenez are due back at the downtown courthouse on July 20 for a hearing to determine if there is enough evidence to require them to stand trial.
They face a maximum of three years and eight months in state prison if convicted, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
The two were arrested about 3 a.m. Monday at a home in the 2900 block of Paloma Street in the USC area, where two laser devices were recovered, according to Los Angeles police.
Police ran a high-flying sting to pinpoint the location, with officers wearing protective glasses flying overhead after LAPD air units saw green laser beams in the area, authorities said.
Authorities were also investigating a similar incident June 27 involving California Highway Patrol and LAPD helicopters, which police determined originated at a residence in the 1000 block of East 29th Street. No one was arrested in connection with that laser-pointing incident.
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