Carroll County Man Arrested for Allegedly Pointing Laser at Police Helicopter

A Sykesville man was arrested late Tuesday night after allegedly endangering an in-flight Maryland State Police helicopter and its crew by spotlighting the aircraft multiple times with a laser.

David H. Hopwood, 35, of the 7000 block of Bristol Place in Sykesville, was charged with reckless endangerment, attempted second-degree assault on a law enforcement officer, and prohibited use of a laser pointer.

The incident happened around 11 p.m. Tuesday when Maryland State Police Pilot Marcus Alborghini and flight paramedic Trooper First Class Gregg Lantz were flying in Trooper 3, a state police helicopter based out of Frederick.

The helicopter was flying over Sykesville, returning from a medevac flight in Baltimore, when it was struck at least four times by a green laser. The crew immediately contacted the Westminster barracks of the Maryland State Police, and troopers responded to the area.

Spotlights on the aircraft were used to light the area where the laser was coming from. Trooper 3 landed near Obrecht Road. Lantz was transported to the identified residence, where police confiscated the laser pointer and arrested Hopwood.

"The use of a laser to target in-flight aircraft is a very dangerous and irresponsible act," said Captain Mark Gibbons, commander of the Maryland State Police Aviation Command.

"While our flight crews are in the air serving and protecting our citizens, we will not have them jeopardized in this way," he said. "We intend to do everything possible to identify, apprehend, and prosecute those who endanger our flight crews, or any other aircraft flying in Maryland."

Maryland State Police Aviation Command personnel have contacted federal authorities about the incident. There could be additional charges in the case, police said.