Blanchard Woman Arrested for Pointing Laser at Police Helicopter
A Caddo Parish woman was arrested for pointing a green laser light at an aircraft. The aircraft turned out to be a police helicopter.
April Poitras, 44, of the 7600 block of Hwy. 1, was taken into custody by Caddo Parish Deputy Steven Jones following a complaint from a Baltimore Police helicopter crew on August 15. Crew members said someone aimed a green laser light at them during their training flight from Metro Aviation, which built their aircraft.
Dep. Jones, who was patrolling in the area at the time, assisted with the call for service that initially went to the Blanchard Police Department. He said the spotlight from the helicopter led him to the suspect’s location. That’s where he found Poitras pointing a green laser light at the aircraft and the ground. He took her into custody and placed her in his patrol vehicle until Blanchard Police arrived.
Blanchard Officer David Lowery arrested Poitras and charged her with one count of Unlawful Aiming of a Laser at an Aircraft. She was booked into the Caddo Correctional Center.