Teenager Who Aimed a Laser Pointer at Giants' Pitcher During Cards Game Pleads Guilty

During an August game against San Francisco, St. Louis Cardinals manager Mike Matheny observed a fan attempting to distract Giants pitcher Shane Loux by shining a laser pointer at his eyes.

The fan, Eric Bogard, who was 17 at the time of the incident, recently plead guilty to disturbing the peace at athletic event, the St.Louis Times Dispatch reports. Bogard got off relatively easy, as he was also charged the unregulated use of a laser pointer, a charge which would have resulted in a 30 day prison sentence.

Bogard will serve six months probation, 20 hours of community service and pay the Cardinals $500 in court costs.

In typical lawyer fashion, Bogard’s lawyer painted his client as a scapegoat.

"Bogard regrets his behavior and he wasn’t the one who actually did most of the harassing nor disturbing the peace with the laser,” Schwartz said, without naming names. “It was the young man who brought the laser and disposed of it, which was not Bogard.”"

If Bogard gets in trouble while on probation, he’s looking at jail time and the charge sticking on his permanent record. [Dispatch]