The grandson of the late actor Clark Gable pleaded not guilty Friday to charges he pointed a laser at a police chopper at an event last month.
He is due back in court Sept. 8.
Clark James Gable, 22, was charged in Los Angeles with training the green laser on a helicopter and momentarily blinding two officers on board, prosecutors said. The incident came at as the aircraft flew above Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood on July 28, according to the District Attorney's Office.
Police determined the laser, flashed three times at the helicopter, came from a red car Gable was riding in. Officers on the ground stopped the vehicle around 10 p.m. and arrested Gable. He faces up to three years in prison if convicted.
The Federal Aviation Administration says the number of incidents in which people pointed lasers at planes and helicopters nearly doubled last year, from 1,527 in 2009 to 2,836 in 2010.
Gable's family told TMZ.com he was trying to point the device at the Hollywood sign.
The late Clark Gable was an Oscar-winning actor best known for his role in 1939 classic film "Gone with the Wind." He died in 1960. His son, John Clark Gable, the suspect's father, was born months after the legendary actor died.
