Police flying in a helicopter alerted officers on the ground who apprehended three north suburban men after they allegedly pointed a laser at the aircraft while on top of a building Saturday night in Old Town, police said.
The incident happened about 9:50 p.m. when police in a helicopter were passing over the 400 block of West Menomonee Street, police said.
The pilots noticed a beam of light shining into the cockpit and the flight crew, comprised of Chicago Police and Cook County Sheriff's police, determined the originating location of the laser, police said.
They directed ground units from the Near North District to the suspects' whereabouts -- on the roof of a building at 450 N. Menomonee St. -- and they were arrested at 10 p.m., police said.
Alvin Kang, 25, of Northbrook; Mark Lawrence, 25, of Winnetka; and Jeremy Smith, 24, of Skokie were charged with two misdemeanor counts each, police said.
A laser pointer was recovered from the scene.
