William Wilson
Introduction
William Wilson, a 56-year-old Buckeye, Arizona, man, was sentenced on June 15, 2026, to ten months in federal prison for aiming a laser pointer at United States Air Force F-35 fighter jets training in the airspace around Luke Air Force Base . U.S. District Judge Steven P. Logan imposed the sentence after Wilson pleaded guilty to two counts of aiming a laser pointer at an aircraft, out of a four-count indictment returned in July 2025. An FBI surveillance plane caught the strikes on video coming from Wilson’s own residence, and pilots in three aircraft — the FBI plane and two F-35s — were hit by his lasers on the same night.
Background Information
Luke Air Force Base sits in the West Valley of the Phoenix metropolitan area, and its F-35 training missions run continuously through the surrounding airspace — including the skies over Buckeye, where Wilson lived . Between September 2024 and January 2025, Wilson struck multiple F-35 jets with lasers during those training flights. Interfering with an aircraft by pointing a laser at it is a federal felony, and the military and FBI treat the practice as a direct flight-safety hazard: a laser hit at critical flight phases can flash-blind a pilot at the controls of a fighter jet or any civilian airliner. The FBI’s Phoenix Division and the Air Force Office of Special Investigations built the case jointly, and the indictment followed a bureau investigation that included airborne surveillance of the source neighborhood.
The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation
Convicted and sentenced. Wilson pleaded guilty to two counts of aiming a laser pointer at an aircraft and was sentenced to ten months in federal prison.
The night that broke the case open was January 8, 2025. An FBI surveillance plane operating over the West Valley captured video of laser strikes originating from Wilson’s residence in Buckeye, and that night the pilots of the FBI plane and of two F-35 jets were all struck by the beams . The recorded footage tied the strikes to a single house, and a subsequent search of the home located two lasers, one red and one green, in Wilson’s possession. Questioned by agents, Wilson admitted he had pointed the lasers at planes on several occasions.
On July 29, 2025, a federal grand jury indicted Wilson on four counts of aiming a laser pointer at an aircraft. He later pleaded guilty to two of the counts, admitting the strikes that endangered the F-35 pilots and the FBI aircrew documenting them . The two remaining counts were resolved by the plea, and the sentencing hearing in June 2026 closed the case roughly seventeen months after the recorded strikes.
Public Reaction and Consequences
U.S. Attorney Timothy Courchaine said, “Military pilots risk their lives to protect Americans. They should not have to worry about threats from people on the ground when they are training here at home,” adding that his office “can and will protect our pilots by bringing bad actors to justice” .
FBI Phoenix Special Agent in Charge Rebecca Day said, “Directing a laser pointer at aircraft of any kind, much less an F-35 Air Force fighter jet, is extremely dangerous and a federal felony,” warning that the FBI is “focused on identifying and investigating people who do, and a federal prosecution could lead you straight to prison.” Special Agent Keith M. Daniels, senior enlisted leader of AFOSI Detachment 421, said laser strikes put “the safety of the aircrew, passengers, and everyone on the ground in jeopardy” and pledged that the Air Force Office of Special Investigations would continue partnering with other agencies to hold offenders accountable. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Abbie Broughton.
Current Status
Wilson, 56, has been sentenced and is serving a ten-month federal prison term imposed by Judge Steven P. Logan on June 15, 2026 . The case number is CR-25-00391-PHX-SPL, release number 2026-110_Wilson. His guilty plea covered two of the four indicted counts. The conduct period ran from September 2024 through January 2025, ending with the recorded January 8, 2025 strikes and the search of his home; no further charges are recorded in the public release, and the sentence, while short by federal standards, is a felony conviction that follows him permanently.
Impact on Their Career/Life
At 56, Wilson carries a federal felony record built entirely around a hobby-grade pointer and a residential vantage point under a training corridor . The FBI plane that documented his house turned a private residence into evidence, and his own admission to agents sealed the record. The case has become the Justice Department’s Arizona example for laser-strike enforcement around Luke Air Force Base — prosecutors publicized the ten-month term alongside explicit warnings that ground-based lasers against military jets are prosecuted as felonies, and the pairing of FBI airborne surveillance with AFOSI means the same pattern in the same skies now carries a documented path from rooftop to cell.
Sources
- DOJ press release, “Buckeye Man Sentenced to Ten Months in Prison for Laser Strikes on United States Air Force F-35 Fighter Jets,” U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, June 25, 2026 source