Suburban man arrested for pointing laser at aircraft, Illinois State Police say

A suburban Berkeley man was arrested by state police last week for allegedly pointing a laser at aircraft flying overhead, according to police.

Saul Martinez Castanon was taken into custody at his home on Thursday night for two counts of misdemeanor disorderly conduct. At around 9:45 p.m., a pilot and spotter, both ISP troopers, were in an aircraft when they reported "being contacted" by a laser pointer. The troopers were participating in "Operation Drive Safe" at the time.

Using a camera on the aircraft, they were able to identify a yard in the 1200 block of Sunnyside Drive in Berkeley as the "likely source of the light," according to officials. Following Thursday's incident, ISP Anti-Violence Enforcement Unit troopers and the Berkeley Police Department went to the address where they took Martinez Castanon into custody without incident.

Laser pointers, which have dramatically risen in use in recent years, can temporarily blind pilots when pointed into a cockpit, putting their safety -- and that of their passengers -- at risk. While Martinez Castanon has only been charged in connection with the incident, information from the Federal Aviation Administration revealed several aircraft departing both O'Hare International Airport and Midway International Airport previously "reported the same issue from a similar geographic origin."

State police posted footage of the incident taken from the aircraft's camera online.