A 31-year-old San Jacinto (KJ6CEY) woman was behind bars for a second time after allegedly pointing a laser at a firefighter behind the wheel of a fire engine.
Irene Levy’s colorful history makes her no stranger to her community or local law enforcement. She is best known in San Jacinto for a stunt she pulled in May 2010 when she used an amateur radio to interfere with an emergency response dispatcher.
Levy was found guilty of jamming emergency radio frequencies by broadcasting threats and making a fake bomb threat. As part of her probation, she was ordered to complete a mental health program and stay out of trouble.
But early Saturday morning, police said Levy violated her probation by pointing a laser beam at a CalFire crew twice as they responded and then returned from a call.
Laser pointers are often used to demonstrate or draw an audience’s attention to a subject, but in the wrong hands they can cause harm. It’s been a problem many pilots are familiar with. This past January, a Glendora man was arrested after allegedly shining a laser into the cockpit of a helicopter.
“It is extremely dangerous anytime you point a laser at people in general. It can blind someone, it can distort their vision, and it is especially dangerous when someone is driving,” said Sgt. Dave Haar of the San Jacinto Police Department.
It’s unclear why Levy allegedly turned her laser on firefighters, but San Jacinto residents like Jolene Oakly are not amused.
“I think it is deplorable because we need every bit of help we can get down here,” Oakly said.
Levy was charged with pointing a laser at a moving vehicle and violating the terms of her probation. She was being held on $25,000 bail.
SAN JACINTO, Calif. (KABC)