Two Amarillo men face up to five years in federal prison for pointing a hand-held laser at a Texas Department of Public Safety helicopter.
Randall County jail records show 34-year-old Christopher Anthony Cantrell was being held Friday pending sentencing in January. Officials said 35-year-old Matthew George Dodgen remains free pending sentencing.
Both pleaded guilty Wednesday in Amarillo to aiming a laser pointer at an aircraft and to aiding and abetting.
The DPS helicopter was targeted with a green laser while flying over Amarillo before dawn June 1. The pilot and co-pilot traced the laser's origin to two Dodgen and Cantrell as they stood near a van. The helicopter's camera recorded Dodgen and Cantrell driving off.
Amarillo police located the pair and recovered a laser pointer from the vehicle.
