Department of Justice: Orange County, California Man charged after helicopter shooting: Department of Justice

A Southern California man is facing felony charges after prosecutors say he tried to shoot down a sheriff’s department helicopter after drinking at his birthday party.

As the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California announced in a statement on Monday, the man, 39-year-old Justin Derek Jennings, was charged with attempting to damage, destroy or disable an aircraft.

The release said the allegations date back to March 9, when Jennings celebrated his birthday. He had been drinking and became angry, which caused some family members to leave the premises. He grabbed a gun from the safe and fired a magazine’s worth of ammunition into the house. More family members left and called the police, the law firm continued.

Orange County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to the scene and a police helicopter circled the home, the release said. Authorities said Jennings then went to the second floor of the house and began shooting into the sky, “only firing when the helicopter was visible to him.”

Authorities said Jennings fired for at least 20 minutes before he finally spoke to an Orange County sheriff’s deputy and surrendered to authorities.

Officers confiscated multiple weapons from the home

Authorities searched Jennings’ home and found multiple weapons, including two revolvers, two handguns and two rifles with multiple bullets, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.

Shell casings were found on the floor, and authorities also found two magazines and a box of ammunition on the couch near the window where the suspect had fired.