What started as a bright green flash in the sky ended with handcuffs in a neighborhood driveway, according to Orange County deputies, who say an Orlando man is now facing felony charges after allegedly aiming a laser at a Sheriff’s Office helicopter.
Investigators identified the suspect as Jonathan Collado. Deputies say the aviation crew spotted the beam hitting their Orange County Sheriff’s Office helicopter, tracked the source to a residential driveway, and guided ground units straight to it. Collado was taken into custody at the scene, where deputies say they also found suspected fentanyl. He now faces both laser-related and drug-related felony counts, authorities say.
As reported by WFTV, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office aviation unit locked onto the light and radioed patrol deputies to the specific driveway where the beam appeared to originate. Detectives arrested Collado there and recovered what they believed to be fentanyl during the encounter. The Sheriff’s Office is leading the investigation, and the case is now headed into the local court system.
What the law says
Florida law is very clear that lasers and moving vehicles do not mix. State criminal statutes make it illegal to point a laser device at anyone operating a vehicle, vessel, or aircraft. Under the Florida Statutes, shining a laser at a person who is flying an aircraft is a third-degree felony, and the charge can be elevated if the act causes injury. What might feel like a prank from the ground is treated as a serious safety threat in court.
Federal rules and safety context
There is also a federal layer to all of this. Aiming a laser at an aircraft is a crime under 18 U.S.C. § 39A, which, as summarized by Cornell Law School, can bring prison time and fines for offenders. The FAA has logged thousands of laser strike reports from pilots and warns that even a quick flash can temporarily blind or disorient someone in the cockpit. The agency recorded more than 13,000 such reports in 2023 and urges anyone who sees this kind of behavior to call law enforcement.
Local pattern
Central Florida has seen this play out before, and not just once. Federal prosecutors secured a conviction in a 2014 case after deputies tracked a laser to a vehicle, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. In 2019, deputies arrested another man after a pilot again guided ground units to a home, as FOX 35 Orlando reported.
Sheriff John Mina has repeatedly tried to get the message across that his agency will use its air crews to track these beams back to the source and seek charges. “If you are doing it, we will catch you,” he told local reporters in 2019, a warning that appears to be playing out once again.
What’s next
Collado faces both the laser-related felony and drug-related counts, and booking and court records will detail the formal charges and any upcoming hearings. WFTV reports that investigators are keeping specific details close to the vest while the case is active, and the Orange County Sheriff’s Office says it will release further information as the investigation moves forward.
