A convicted felon who was found guilty last year of shooting at a Los Angeles Police Department helicopter and hitting the aircraft has been sentenced to 12 years and 8 months in state prison on Tuesday (August 11). However, prosecutors have expressed that the sentence is too lenient.
According to reports from the city news agency, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Mildred Escobedo described Douglas Byers’ actions as “extremely foolish and negligent,” but she did not believe in imposing the 41-year and 8-month sentence requested by Deputy District Attorney Eric Siddall.
The judge noted that Byers’ behavior was “extremely dangerous” and “definitely warranted imprisonment,” but it seemed to be related to the defendant’s substance abuse; furthermore, Byers represented himself during the trial, displaying respect and friendliness. Escobedo stated that she had the discretion not to impose additional sentence on the “firearm enhancement clause” established by the jury’s March verdict.
Outside the courthouse in downtown Los Angeles, prosecutors stated: “While I respect the court greatly, I believe that a person who committed perjury, lied to 12 jurors, almost killed two police officers, and could have caused multiple deaths on the ground should not only receive a 12-year prison sentence. He should be punished in accordance with his behavior on the streets and in the court.”
On August 15, 2025, Byers fired at a helicopter with an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle and was convicted of two counts of assault on a peace officer and one count of felon in possession of a firearm.
During the sentencing hearing, the 59-year-old Byers admitted to having a “very long” criminal record but stated, “I have never been charged with a violent crime in my life.” He said he had “no animosity towards law enforcement” and insisted that he did not lie when testifying before the jury.
The prosecutor wrote in a sentencing memo requesting an almost maximum sentence, stating: “There were two officers on board at the time, endangered by the defendant’s actions. Before hitting the aircraft, the defendant fired multiple shots in an unknown direction, further jeopardizing community safety… Despite the defendant being in a mental breakdown at the time, which led to him shooting at the Los Angeles Police Department helicopter, he was not in a similar mental state when he chose to testify and lie to the jury.”
According to the prosecution’s sentencing memo, 18 expended shell casings were found at the scene. Subsequent forensic analysis confirmed that these shell casings were all fired from the rifle recovered by law enforcement from Byers’ shack in South Los Angeles and identified the trajectory of the bullets through the helicopter.
Outside the courthouse, the prosecutor stated that authorities later realized that the helicopter was hit in a location “just inches away from a critical area,” and if that part had been hit, the helicopter would have crashed.
Siddall said: “There is no doubt that it was him who did this.”