JAIL FOR SPOTLIGHTING JETS

By Glenn Pew, Contributing Editor, Video Editor

May 9, 2009

According to his attorney, Henry Gros, 56, complained via phone to the Navy and city authorities and wrote a senator without effect, until one year ago he shined a spotlight at naval aircraft flying nighttime simulated carrier approaches to Jacksonville Naval Air Station. Gros says the idea was to collect identification markings off the aircraft as they flew 100 feet over the roof of his mobile home, according to The Florida Times-Union. The act succeeded in winning Gros some attention ... from Federal prosecutors and they, through a U.S. District Judge, managed to have Gros sentenced to one year and a day in prison. And so it is that Gros, who was arrested by Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) agents in September, now has until June 4 to report to prison. The appointment falls about four years after Gros moved to the area ... and about four years since he signed a disclosure stating that his property was close enough to the Navy's practice airfield that it would be affected by activity there, assistant U.S. attorney Jonathan McKay told the Times-Union.

Despite Gros' attorney's claims that his client's actions were intended to help him collect evidence about the jet flights, prosecutors believed Gros' intent was malicious. The act of shining spotlights at military pilot trainees even resulted in one practice session being called off.

At many times in the past, various members of our local "usual gang of idiots" who hate all aviation-minded citizens have indicated their intentions to do things like this to pilots using Valkaria Airport in order to drive them away or "report them". As this article shows, anyone who does something like this is not only jeopardizing people's lives, but has committed a federal felony, and their usual "citizen watchdog" BS excuses hold ZERO weight with the authorities! Be warned...