BAKERSFIELD – A Bakersfield man has pleaded guilty to flashing a laser beam at a Kern County sheriff's helicopter.

Jared James Dooley, 28, admitted pointing a green laser light into the cockpit of a chopper that was patrolling Bakersfield last November.

The pilot said he became disoriented and his eyes hurt for a couple of hours.

Dooley pleaded guilty Friday in federal court to a charge of attempting to interfere with the safe operation of a Sheriff's Department helicopter. He could face up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

His girlfriend faces trial on the same charge next month.

Information from: The Bakersfield Californian, www.bakersfield.com