Rochester Man Charged With Aiming Laser Pointer At Two Aircraft
Madison, WI (KROC AM News) - Federal charges have been filed in Wisconsin against a Rochester man who is accused of aiming a laser pointer beam at two aircraft.
One was a Delta Airlines jet and the other was a Minnesota State Patrol aircraft.
According to the US Attorney’s Office, the incident happened in the River Falls area in western Wisconsin last October 29th.
The indictment charging 42-year-old Nicholas Link was unsealed last Friday. He will appear in court at a later date.
He could receive a 5-year prison sentence for each county if he is convicted.
Here is the information from the US Attorney's Office:
The indictment, which was returned on January 26, 2022 by a grand jury sitting in Madison, Wisconsin, charges Nicholas James Link, 42. The indictment alleges that on October 29, 2021, Link aimed the beam of a laser pointer at a Delta Airlines commercial aircraft and at a Minnesota State Patrol aircraft. The indictment alleges that he did so while in Wisconsin.
If convicted, Link faces a maximum penalty of 5 years in federal prison on each count. The charges against him are the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Minnesota State Patrol, and River Falls (Wisconsin) Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Corey Stephan is handling the prosecution.
Link was also in the news last year when he created a scene in Stewartville that included a traffic crash and an assault of an employee at a store where he threw a cash register through a window.
