Laguna Beach Man Pleads Guilty to Flying Drones Near Aircrafts, Prompting Dangerous Emergency Responses
Laguna Beach resident Alexander Milinovic pleaded guilty July 13 to three criminal charges for recklessly operating a drone near various aircraft multiple times—including close to a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter mid-flight.
The 62-year-old pleaded guilty to three misdemeanor counts of unsafe operation of an unmanned aircraft between June 2022 and March 2023, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California.
His sentencing is scheduled for November 28, where he will face a maximum sentence of one year in prison for each criminal count.
Mr. Milinovic’s actions were discovered in November 2022 after law enforcement was notified of videos posted to TikTok of his drone flying close to several aircraft, authorities said….