Lubbock Man Headed to Prison for Laser Pointer Incident

Twenty-three-year-old Steve Alexander Chavez, Jr. has been sentenced to 8 months after pleading guilty to charges.

According to the press release sent by federal authorities, Chavez was a former resident of Garland, Texas where the incident occurred. He moved to Lubbock shortly after and was arrested here.

According to the documents, Chavez knowingly aimed a laser beam from a pointer at a Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) helicopter back in 2013.  He was in the backyard of a friend's house and the helicopter was overhead.

Chavez, Jr., was sentenced by Chief U.S. District Judge Jorge A. Solis to 8 months in federal prison.

According to laserpointersafety, they can do extensive damage to a person's eyes if pointed directly into them.