A California man has pleaded guilty to shooting at a police helicopter with a semi-automatic rifle after his booze-fueled birthday party went dangerously awry.
Justin Derek Jennings, 40, has admitted guilt to one count of attempting to damage, destroy, disable, or wreck a special aircraft after he opened fire at a police helicopter in the posh Orange County neighborhood.
Jennings was celebrating his birthday on March 9, 2024, when he flew into a rage, running family members out of his home, according to the US Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California.
Once most of the party-goers left, he grabbed a rifle from a safe inside his Laguna Niguel home and started firing off rounds of ammunition.
The straggling party attendees fled the home and called law enforcement, alerting the attention of the Orange County Sheriff’s Department.
The department’s helicopter flew around Jennings’ home. He then started firing off gunshots from the second story of his house toward the police chopper.
‘By repeatedly shooting at the helicopter, defendant willfully attempted to damage, destroy, or disable the helicopter, and also took a substantial step towards destroying or disabling the helicopter,’ the indictment read.
Jennings continued shooting at the helicopter for 20 minutes until he exited and surrendered to the cops.
Justin Derek Jennings, 40, pleaded guilty to shooting at a police helicopter from his home (pictured)
The United States Attorney’s Office said Jennings fired at the helicopter for 20 minutes before surrendering (file photo)
Law enforcement recovered a slew of weapons in his home, including two revolvers, two handguns, two rifles, and multiple rounds of ammunition, according to the US Attorney’s Office.
Authorities also found bullet casings scattered throughout the home and a box of ammunition sitting on the couch near where Jennings was perched.
It’s unclear what triggered Jennings’s booze-fueled shooting. The county sheriff’s office and the Los Angeles Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted the investigation.
The Orange County District Attorney’s Office initially charged Jennings, but the case was dismissed so the federal courts could prosecute him.
District Judge John W. Holcomb set a sentencing hearing for January 30, 2026. The maximum sentence is 20 years in federal prison.
Daily Mail reached out to Jennings’s representation for comment on his behalf.
