Mom reacts to laser arrest

If a Costa Mesa teenager had flashed his laser at Costa Mesa police helicopter earlier this month as police claim, it was only by accident and for just a second, nothing meriting an arrest, the man’s mother said Tuesday.

“The helicopter was nowhere near where he was shining that light,” said Erica Andrews, whose 19-year-old son, Adam, was arrested March 13. “They never saw the helicopter. I suppose it may have, way, way over there hit that helicopter. But there’s no possible way he did that intentionally, which is what he is charged with.”

Adam Andrews was arrested and booked on suspicion of misdemeanor discharging a laser at aircraft. The Penal Code cited, 247.5, says, “Any person who willfully and maliciously discharges a laser at an aircraft, whether in motion or in flight, while occupied, is guilty of a violation of this section.”

Adam Andrews was out of town Tuesday and unavailable for comment.

But Andrews’ mom maintains her son’s innocence. She said he and six friends were sitting on the ground in his family’s garage, which borders an alley. They were smoking cigarettes and flashing the laser through the smoke, she said.

Police say different.

About 8:08 p.m., officers in the Eagle helicopter patrolling over the city had the interior of the cockpit lit up by a laser, Sgt. Bryan Glass said.

“It was for a prolonged time, not intermittently,” long enough for police to accurately track it and guide units on the ground to Andrews’ house, Glass said.

When police arrived at his house and talked to Andrews and his friends, they arrested the teenager because he was carrying the laser and acknowledged he had shined it in the air, police said. He was in jail overnight until his family posted bail, his mother said.

“If my son robbed somebody, if he raped somebody, if he drove drunk he should sit in jail. But not for shining a laser light,” she said. “There’s no way he did it willingly or maliciously ... It seems like they’re targeting anyone with a laser light.”

Reporter JOSEPH SERNA may be reached at (714) 966-4619 or at joseph.serna@latimes.com.