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CMPD, FBI investigate after teenager points laser at police helicopter

CHARLOTTE — The FBI said it is working with Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department to investigate the case of a teenager pointing a laser at the police department’s helicopter Tuesday night.

The helicopter was flying over a neighborhood in east Mecklenburg when the crew noticed a laser beam in the cockpit.
 
Police arrested Smith Brundage, 19, and charged him with two felony counts of pointing a laser device at an aircraft.
 
Brundage's attorney, Joe Ledford, told Eyewitness News that Brundage had been fishing with several friends Tuesday night when he decided to test his laser pointer.
 
"He wanted to see how far it would go and whether it would reach out, and touch the helicopter and sure enough it did," Ledford said.
 
He said Brundage told his parents what had happened and his parents called police, who arrested Brundage at their home.
 
"One of the folks I talked with about him said he's a really good kid making a really dumb decision and I think that's a pretty good way to sum it up," Ledford said.
 
Pointing a laser at an aircraft is a federal offense and a spokeswoman for the FBI says they have not decided if they will file federal charges in the case.