Adelaide man faces court over 'drunken mistake' with eBay purchase

A split second decision in his own backyard has landed Adelaide man Shannon Glomb in court.

"I was just drinking and I stupidly shone a laser pointer at a helicopter and it turned out to be a police helicopter," he told 9News.

"I didn't know, and I'm getting in trouble for it and I feel like an idiot."

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The 36-year-old pleaded guilty on Tuesday over the dangerous act in December last year at his Salisbury East home, after he says he bought the laser pointer online to amuse his cat.

"It was illegal that I had the laser pointer in the first place, but on eBay it was described as like a toy," Glomb said.

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However, the objects are anything but toys - when pointed in the sky, laser beams can be so powerful they can leave pilots blinded, endangering the aircraft and any passengers.

Glomb insists in his case it was just a "drunken mistake".

"I understand how serious it is and to tell you the truth I'm pretty worried about it."

What Glomb didn't realise at the time was that the laser he was shining allowed police in the air to direct officers straight to him and within minutes he says he got a knock on the front door.

He now faces up to 14 years in jail and is warning others not to make the same choices he did.

"Don't buy laser pointers at all from eBay pretty much ... because if you're like me, I'm normally responsible but there's that one day where you drink and you do something stupid and then you're looking at a lot of trouble for it."

Glomb will return to court next month.

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