Colts Neck Man Now Faces Up to Five Years in Federal Prison

Amid the chaos that overtook New Jersey late last year, a Colts Neck man decided to shine a laser beam at what he believed was one of the ‘unidentified’ drones. His luck quickly turned when the police came knocking, informing him that the drone he struck was actually a federal law enforcement helicopter.

At around 8:00 pm on December 12, a helicopter operated by federal law enforcement personnel was maneuvering over Colts Neck, NJ, at 2,500 ft. Its pilots noticed a green light beaming in the cockpit and executed a turn to locate the source before being struck a second time. They tracked the laser down to a residence and began recording as the laser hit the aircraft again.

The camera picked up two individuals and utilized the chopper’s GPS to generate the address of the house. Just half an hour later, the Colts Neck Police Department dispatched officers to pay it a visit.

27-year-old James Pedone answered the door and was quick to deny that he or his companion shone a laser. He switched up his stance a week later, owning up to aiming a laser at an aircraft “once or twice” on the assumption that it was a drone.

On February 13, Pedone made his initial appearance in Newark Federal Court before US Magistrate Judge Leda Dunn Wettre. He not only lied to federal agents, but also knowingly aimed a laser pointer at an aircraft. This claim alone lands him up to five years in prison and a maximum $250,000 fine. Pedone also confessed to ditching the laser pointer after the cops showed up on his doorstep.

Only after most of the New Jersey drone panic had died down, President Donald Trump revealed that the unmanned aircraft were authorized for research by the Federal Aviation Administration. The FAA has yet to reveal the purpose of the operation or why the public, which reported thousands of sightings, could not know about it.

FMI: www.justice.gov