Disgraced former council housing director John Arthur Jones of Anglesey has been found guilty of endangering aircraft at Mold Crown Court.
Jones was annoyed by Royal Air Force (RAF) training aircraft flying over his land near RAF Mona so he decided to shine lights from high power torches at them, often during the landing phase which caused some aircraft to abort their landings.
The jury was told that these lights were “dangerously distracting” to pilots flying fast jets from RAF Valley who were training for battle readiness using the North Wales airfields.
The lights would cause disorientation on night flying and pilots could take up to 20 minutes to recover their night vision.
Jones, who denied all the charges, was watched carrying out his dangerous acts on at least one occasion by under-cover Police officers who had been alerted by the Ministry of Defence.
On one occasion the Police helicopter was scrambled and saw a man on the veranda of Jones’ house with a torch.
When police searched his house they found detailed records of flight times and movements of RAF Valley aircraft and documents showing what the prosecution described as a man who had become “became obsessed with the activity of the aircraft”.
Jones was granted bail pending sentencing however Judge Geraint Walters warned him that the fact he was allowed to walk free from court today was no indication of the sentence he would receive.
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