Two teens accused of shining a laser at the police Eagle helicopter will fight the charges.
Joshua O'Hare-Knight and James Spiers appeared at Auckland District Court today.
They each face a charge of unnecessarily endangering an aircraft which carries a maximum sentence of 12 months in prison.
The police allege the pair were at a house party in Mt Albert and pointed a laser at the police helicopter as it flew over looking for a stolen car last year.
The pilot then hovered over the house, where police found a laser pen. The pair were arrested soon after.
O'Hare-Knight and Spiers had applied for a discharge without conviction but Judge Allison Sinclair told O'Hare-Knight's lawyer Rosemary Thomson today: "I can tell you in a word: No.''
The men were bailed to reappear next month.
- Edward Gay
