O.C. man downs 2 quarts of Jack Daniel's, shoots at sheriff's helicopter, gets 9-year sentence
Key takeaways
- Justin Derek Jennings, 41, of Laguna Niguel was sentenced to 108 months in federal prison in connection to the incident on his birthday in 2024.
- Jennings was having a birthday party with family that day, according to court documents.
- Holcomb, attended by several of his family members, Jennings admitted that his struggles with alcoholism contributed to his actions that day.
An Orange County Sheriff’s Department Airbus helicopter flies along the coastline at dusk on Sept. 19, 2025, in Laguna Beach. (Kevin Carter/Getty Images) By Seamus Bozeman Follow June 8, 2026 7:25 PM PT 3 min Click here to listen to this article Share via Close extra sharing options Email Facebook X Linked In Threads Reddit Whats App Copy Link URL Copied! Print 0:00 0:00 1x This is read by an automated voice. Please report any issues or inconsistencies here.
An Orange County man was sentenced to nine years in prison on Monday over an alcohol-fueled disturbance during which he fired an entire rifle magazine of bullets inside his home — causing his family to flee — and additional rounds at a Sheriff’s Department helicopter from his second-story window.
Justin Derek Jennings, 41, of Laguna Niguel was sentenced to 108 months in federal prison in connection to the incident on his birthday in 2024. He had pleaded guilty to one count of attempting to damage, destroy, disable or wreck an aircraft, the Justice Department said in a news release.