Man accused of pointing laser at sheriff's helicopter

Broward Sheriff’s deputy pilot Chris Marchese was on a night flight, helping deputies on the ground who were watching a suspect’s car when suddenly, he was blinded by a green laser beam.

Marchese recovered his vision and had to reorient himself and the aircraft about 11:45 p.m. Thursday.

And then the light beam blinded him again. After he recovered, it appeared yet again, with the same result.

It wasn’t the first time Marchese, an experienced pilot, was the target of someone armed with a laser.

In 2014, a Coconut Creek man was arrested after police said he pointed a laser at the helicopter Marchese was piloting.

"Once it hits the window, the whole cockpit goes green," Marchese said then. "It got me in my right eye and one of my crew members got hit in the eye also."

In that case, Marchese could see where the laser was coming from and followed the suspect from the air.

On Thursday night, he was again able to direct deputies to a suspect’s location, a home in Lauderhill.

About 1:45 a.m. Friday, deputies arrested Ruebin Ramoutar, 29, a painter and fabricator for his father’s company.

Ramoutar appeared in court Friday and acted as his own attorney.

“The potential harm his actions could have caused speak for themselves and causes me a great deal of concern,” Prosecutor Eric Linder told Broward County Judge Kim Theresa Mollica.

Ramoutar is facing a charge of pointing a laser light at a pilot, a felony offense.

Mollica set a $5,000 bond for Ramoutar and ordered him to not possess any laser lighting devices.