Joseph Liam Fletcher-Jones: 25-year-old escapes prison but fined $10,000 for pointing laser at police chopper

A 25-year-old man was lucky to escape prison for pointing a laser at a police helicopter on New Year’s Eve in Warnbro. Joseph Liam Fletcher-Jones pleaded guilty in Rockingham Magistrates Court on May 17 to causing alarm with laser lights to people in conveyance and failing to give police personal details. The court was told the 25-year-old FIFO worker had climbed on the roof of a Warnbro home about 10.35pm on New Year’s Eve. WA Police were conducting aerial patrols when Fletcher-Jones pointed a red laser light at the helicopter. Police officers attended the address and Fletcher-Jones refused to give them his name. The laser light offence carries a sentence of three years in prison or a maximum $36,000 fine. Magistrate Anne Longden labelled the offence as “staggering”. “This is so serious I couldn’t rule out imprisonment,” she said. “You said it seemed like fun at the time, which is staggering because there’s obviously a risk something could happen. “There needs to be a message sent to you and others that this is serious. “You’re going to incur a significant fine which might prompt you to drink less.” Fletcher-Jones said he was drunk at the time and didn’t mean to harm anyone. “I didn’t think it was that serious at the time,” he said. “I do now.” Magistrate Longden fined Fletcher-Jones $10,000 cumulative but granted him a spent conviction due to his young age and lack of previous offending.