ANTELOPE VALLEY : Recluse Faces 2nd Jail Term for Interfering With Pilots
For the second time in two years, a 72-year-old recluse angry over noise faces a jail term for allegedly using a mirror to reflect sunlight into the eyes of pilots flying over his trailer home in the Antelope Valley community of Llano.
Alcide J. Chaisson could serve as much as a year in jail for his second violation of a state law that prohibits interfering with airport traffic, said Stephen Cooley, head of the district attorney’s office in Lancaster.
Chaisson, whose trial is scheduled for Friday, was arrested in November after pilots from nearby Crystalaire Airport complained to sheriff’s deputies. He admitted using the mirrors, the sheriff’s report said.
Authorities said Chaisson’s mirrors could cause a crash or midair collision by obstructing the vision of pilots. The private Crystalaire Airport serves small craft pilots.
Chaisson, a retired contractor, pleaded no contest to the same violation in April, 1990, and was sentenced to 180 days’ probation and 45 days of community service.
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