Man charged with shining laser light at Sarasota helicopter

A man was arrested after authorities say he shined a laser at a Sarasota County Sheriff's Office helicopter flying over Siesta Beach on Friday night.

The helicopter was called into assist Sarasota deputies who were breaking up several small fights that had broken out among a group of more than 500 people, many of them juveniles, partying on the beach around 11:45 p.m., according to a media release.

The helicopter was using an infrared camera to monitor the activity when one of the people in the crowd began shining a green laser light onto the chopper and into its cockpit, the release states.

Deputies operating the helicopter were able to direct deputies on the ground o the suspect, identified as 20-year-old Castaneda Aroldo.

Aroldo was arrested and charged with one felony count of misuse of laser lighting devices.

This story was originally published April 5, 2014 at 5:02 PM with the headline "Man charged with shining laser light at Sarasota helicopter."