Post Falls man sentenced to 3 years in federal prison for pointing laser at KCSO helicopter

A Post Falls resident was sentenced to nearly three years in federal prison for aiming a laser pointer at a Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office helicopter last summer.

Aspen A. Schaffer, 31, was out with friends Aug. 16 when he pointed a bright green laser at the helicopter as it flew overhead, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Idaho.

The laser struck the helicopter multiple times and impaired the vision of the pilot, a sergeant and a deputy who were on board, the release said. The helicopter lost altitude, but the pilot regained control and brought the helicopter back up to the appropriate altitude.

Law enforcement tracked the car Schaffer was in and arrested him. Schaffer had a blood alcohol level of 0.11, above the 0.08 legal limit in Idaho, when he was booked into jail, according to the release. Schaffer has prior felony convictions.

Schaffer was indicted by a grand jury in September and charged with aiming a laser pointer at an aircraft, the release said. He pleaded guilty in December to that charge. U.S. District Judge Amanda Brailsford sentenced Schaffer on Thursday to 35 months in prison, according to court records.

Schaffer will serve three years of supervised release after he is released from prison.

The FBI recently reported in a news release that the agency has noticed an increase in people illegally pointing lasers at aircraft in the Seattle and Spokane areas since March.

In 2023, a federal grand jury indicted 43-year-old Johnny Blackstock on two felonies in connection to aiming a laser at an aircraft. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced last year to time served, according to court documents. Last month, Spokane County Sheriff’s Office said its helicopter was on a regular patrol flight and reported two green laser strikes northwest of the Spokane International Airport. Rusty A. Flett, 45, was taken into custody in connection with the laser strikes hours later, the sheriff’s office said in a news release.

The maximum federal sentence for pointing a laser at an aircraft is five years in prison with a $250,000 fine.