San Angelo, TX — A San Angelo man is facing charges after allegedly shining a laser pointer at a Texas Department of Public Safety (TxDPS) helicopter, impairing its operation during a police mission, authorities said.
Emilio Partida, 45, was arrested on the night of June 24 and booked into the Tom Green County Detention Center on a charge of illuminating an aircraft with a laser in a manner that impaired the operator. He was released the following morning, according to the Tom Green County Sheriff’s Office.
The incident occurred as a TxDPS Aircraft Operations Division helicopter was assisting San Angelo police with a local operation when the aircraft was “targeted by a green laser light,” TxDPS officials said. The helicopter crew shielded their eyes and worked to identify the source of the laser, eventually leading officers to Partida.
According to a report filed by a Texas Highway Patrol Trooper, the trooper was on routine patrol around 8:40 p.m. when they overheard radio traffic from DPS El Paso Communications reporting that a green laser had been pointed at the helicopter in Tom Green County.
The helicopter crew provided a description of the suspect, a male wearing shorts, located in the 3100 block of Cumberland Drive. The trooper responded to the area and made contact with Partida.
Partida allegedly admitted to shining the laser at the aircraft, claiming he had seen social media posts about drones operating in the neighborhood and simply wanted to “mess with” the aircraft. The trooper noted in the report that the helicopter “did not sound like a drone.”
The TxDPS helicopter remained overhead during the interaction, and Partida was taken into custody without incident.
The arrest came less than a week after TxDPS expanded its Aircraft Operations Division to include the San Angelo area.
Authorities continue to remind the public that pointing lasers at aircraft is dangerous, illegal, and can impair pilots, putting lives at risk.
