The Region : Charges in Copter Incident

Felony charges were filed against two men arrested Saturday for throwing beer bottles at a Los Angeles police helicopter. Juan Pecheco, 18, of Los Angeles, and Adrian Velazquez, 21, of Cudahy each face a felony charge of attempting to disable an aircraft. The men allegedly threw full beer bottles at the helicopter, which was about 50 feet overhead. Officers in the craft were trying to disperse a crowd of about 150 people that had gathered at the base of the KIIS radio tower near downtown Los Angeles, district attorney’s spokesman Al Albergate said. One of the bottles punctured the metal skin of the helicopter, but the craft landed safely. The other broke on the chopper’s landing skid, but did not cause serious damage. If convicted, Pecheco and Velazquez could face 2 1/2 years in state prison, Albergate said. Frank Centeno, 19, of Los Angeles, charged with being an accessory, could face three years in state prison if convicted, he said.