Clark Gable's Grandson Pleads Not Guilty to Pointing Laser at LAPD Helicopter

Clark Gable's 22-year-old grandson pleaded not guilty today to charges that he pointed a laser at a Los Angeles Police Department patrol helicopter crew in Hollywood last month.

Clark James Gable is charged with three counts of discharge of a laser at an aircraft.

The late actor's namesake is accused of pointing a green laser at an LAPD helicopter flying above a Hollywood Boulevard event on July 28, momentarily obstructing the vision of two officers in the chopper, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's office.

The laser was allegedly flashed two more times at the helicopter, with the officers later pinpointing that the laser beam had come from a small red car.

The vehicle in which Gable was riding was stopped at Highland Avenue and Franklin Place, where he was arrested.

Prosecutors declined to file charges against the car's driver, Maximilian Anderson, citing insufficient evidence that the 23-year-old man knew the laser was being pointed at the helicopter.

Gable is free on $250,000 bail.

He is due back at the downtown Los Angeles courthouse on Sept. 8, when a date is scheduled to be set for a hearing to determine whether there is enough evidence to require him to stand trial.

If convicted, Gable could face up to three years in prison, according to the district attorney's office.

"It was a misunderstanding, you know, people make mistakes and you learn from them,'' Gable told KCAL9 after his arrest. "[The laser] was just a gift that I got, and people make mistakes and that's the bottom line. I'm going to learn from it and hopefully others will.''

— City News Service