California Man Pleads Guilty to Repeatedly Shooting at Police Helicopter as It Flew Around His Home After His Birthday Party By Brenton Blanchet

A California man faces up to 20 years in federal prison after he repeatedly shot at a police helicopter following his birthday party.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office, Central District of California announced on Friday, Aug. 8, that 40-year-old Justin Derek Jennings of Orange County has pleaded guilty to one count of attempting to damage, destroy, disable or wreck an aircraft in the special aircraft jurisdiction of the United States — more than a year after he shot at an Orange County Sheriff’s Department helicopter.

Officials said the shooting took place when Jennings became “angry” after drinking during a birthday party and fired “an entire magazine” of ammunition inside his home. He then spent around 20 minutes “intermittently” firing his rifle at a responding Orange County Sheriff’s Department helicopter, per a release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Jennings “had been drinking and became angry” during his birthday party, before his family left the home on March 9, 2024, according to court documents cited by officials.

He then “removed a rifle from his gun safe and fired an entire magazine worth of ammunition inside the home,” as the rest of his family left the residence and notified police, per the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

After a police helicopter — and several deputies — responded to the man’s home, he made his way to the second story of the house and “began shooting a rifle upwards in the sky, firing only when the helicopter was visible to him.” The shooting took place over the span of 20 minutes, before Jennings spoke to authorities and “exited the residence and surrendered.”

“During a search of Jennings’ residence, law enforcement seized two revolvers, two handguns and two rifles along with multiple rounds of ammunition,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said in the news release. “Bullet casings were scattered throughout the floor, and law enforcement also seized two magazines and a box of ammunition that was on a couch beneath the window from where Jennings fired the weapon.”

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Jennings is next due in court on Jan. 30, 2026. He faces a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison.

The Orange County District Attorney’s Office initially charged Jennings, but dismissed the case so that the federal case could proceed. Both the FBI and the Orange County Sheriff’s Department investigated the shooting.

A previous announcement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office stated that Jennings is a resident of Laguna Niguel and that the shooting took place after his birthday party “acrimoniously ended.”