Page 13 - IAV Digital Magazine #596

iAV - Antelope Valley Digital Magazine
Orange County Man Arrested For Trying To Shoot Down Sheriff's Helicopter After Birthday Party
By Dean Fioresi, CBS News
A man was arrested on a fed- eral grand jury indictment that alleges he repeat- edly fired shots at an Orange County Sheriff's Department heli- copter in March after his birthday party ended "acri- moniously," according to fed- eral prosecutors.
Justin Derek
Jennings, 39, of Laguna Niguel, has been charged with one count of attempting to damage, destroy or disable an air- craft after a chaotic incident on March 9, according to a statement from the United States Department of Justice.
Court documents say that Jennings and his family were celebrating
his birthday party and that he was allegedly drinking when he "became enraged."
"As his outburst escalated, family members in attendance left the home," the court release said. "After most of his family left, Jennings alleged- ly removed a rifle from his gun safe and fired an entire magazine worth of ammuni-
tion inside the home."
This reportedly caused the rest of the family to leave the home as well, with some members reporting the inci- dent to law enforcement, prosecutors said.
At this point, OCSD deputies and a department helicopter responded to the scene.
"Jennings allegedly then went to the home's second story and began shooting a rifle upwards in the sky, firing only when the helicop- ter was visible to him," the state- ment continued. "The shooting continued inter- mittently for at least 20 minutes."
Jennings eventu- ally exited the
home and surren- dered after speaking with a deputy.
Investigators seized two revolvers, two handguns and two rifles, along with multiple rounds of ammu- nition, from Jennings home during a search, prosecutors said.
They also found bullet casings scattered throughout the floor of the home and two maga- zines and a box of ammunition were found on a couch beneath the window out of which Jennings was allegedly fir- ing, the DOJ statement said.
If convicted, he faces a maximum statutory sen- tence of 20 years in federal prison.
Both the FBI and OCSD assisted in investigating the matter.
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iAV - Antelope Valley Digital Magazine