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Johns Creek man arrested after laser pointed at police helicopter

Channel 2's Mike Petchenik reports why police feel it was a dangerous situation starting at 4 p.m. on Channel 2 Action News.
By Ellen Eldridge
July 18, 2017

A Johns Creek man is facing charges after police said he pointed a laser at a Gwinnett County police helicopter.

Marius Lizunas, 47, told police he wanted to “check the range” of his laser pointer when he saw a chopper above him on July 5, according to a police report.

Marius Lizunas (Credit: Fulton County Sheriff's Office)
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When the two Gwinnett officers noticed the laser in the cockpit, they traced the laser and recorded infrared video of a man they said pointed at them, police said.

Two Johns Creek officers went to the Treadstone Overlook address and arrested Lizunas on a charge of aiming a laser pointer at an aircraft, the report states.

Neighbors told Channel 2 Action News they didn’t realize pointing a laser at a police helicopter was illegal, but they could understand how it’s hazardous.

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