A Kalispell man received prison time Thursday for aiming a laser pointer at an airplane flying over the city in 2023.  

U.S. District Judge Dana Christensen handed down a two-and-a-half-year sentence to Nolan Wayne Hamman, 32, in federal court in Missoula on Feb. 6. His stint behind bars will be followed by three years of supervised release.  

Hamman pleaded guilty in October to aiming a laser pointer at an aircraft.  

Authorities arrested Hamman in November 2023 after a flight instructor flying with a minor over Kalispell reported seeing a person shine a laser on their plane, court documents said. Responding Flathead County Sheriff's Office deputies found Hamman on the ground and in possession of a laser pointer.  

He admitted to aiming the laser on the airplane, court documents alleged.  

Prosecutors accused Hamman of using a laser pointer on other planes over the span of several months. He allegedly targeted the aircraft because he believed they were tracking him.  

His actions endangered multiple pilots, including two minors, and bystanders on the ground in and around Kalispell, prosecutors alleged.  

The FBI's Montana Regional Violent Crime Task Force, Federal Aviation Administration and Kalispell Police Department cooperated with the Sheriff's Office in investigating the case. 

Nolan is the defendant in several ongoing cases in Flathead County District Court. In May 2024 he pleaded not guilty to one felony count of criminal possession of dangerous drugs and a misdemeanor driving under the influence, first offense, charge.  

County prosecutors also reopened last year a felony theft case where he received a deferred imposition of sentence in February 2024.  

News Editor Derrick Perkins can be reached at 758-4430 or [email protected].