CALIFORNIA—On June 8, the United States Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California announced that Justin Derek Jennings, 41, of Laguna Niguel, received a 9-year federal prison sentence for shooting at an Orange County Sheriff’s Office helicopter with a semi-automatic weapon in 2024.
Jennings was convicted of one count of attempting to damage or wreck an aircraft in a special United States aircraft jurisdiction.
On March 9, 2024, Jennings and his family were celebrating his 39th birthday at his residence in the 31000 block of Golden Lantern. After consuming all of a bottle of Jack Daniels whiskey, he retrieved a rifle and fired one magazine’s worth of bullets, causing his relatives to run. He was reported to the Orange County Sheriff’s Department.
Authorities dispatched deputies and a helicopter to the scene, who spotted Jennings go to the second floor, open a window, and fire at it for about 20 minutes whenever the helicopter came close to the house. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office sentencing memorandum two officers were piloting the helicopter and the defendant wanted to see if he could take it down and if successful could have ended in the death of two officers. He also made statements in regards to the Sheriff Deputies.
A deputy spoke to Jennings, who then ceased his actions, came outside, and surrendered to authorities, who searched the premises, finding multiple weapons, including rifles and rounds of ammunition. In the second-floor room, deputies discovered two magazines and a box of ammunition under a piece of furniture.
Jennings pleaded guilty on August 9th, 2025 after entering into a plea agreement with federal prosecutors. While charged by the Orange County District Attorney’s Office for his actions, that case was abandoned in favor of federal prosecution, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office is moving forward with the federal case against him. As part of the plea agreement he made with the U.S. Attorney’s Office, recommended to be sentenced to the low end of the lower end of the sentencing guidelines instead of the maximum. It also decided not to impose any fines on the defendant, as he lacked the ability to pay them.
