Clark Gable grandson says not guilty of laser crime (Reuters)

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Clark Gable's grandson pleaded not guilty on Friday to three counts of pointing a laser light at a police helicopter in July, momentarily blinding two officers.

Clark James Gable, 22, is accused of shining the green laser on a Los Angeles Police Department helicopter that was patrolling in the sky above a Hollywood event on July 28, according to the Los Angeles District Attorney's Office.

The officers in the helicopter determined that the laser beam had come from a small red car, and police on the ground stopped the vehicle and arrested Gable, who was a passenger.

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

Free on $250,000 bail, Gable is due back in court on September 8, when a hearing will be scheduled to determine if there is enough evidence to require that he stand trial.

If convicted, he could face up to three years in prison.

Clark Gable was an Oscar-winning actor best known for his role in 1939 classic film "Gone with the Wind." He died in 1960.

(Reporting and writing by Sheri Linden; Edited by Bob Tourtellotte)

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Clark Gable grandson charged with crimes in LA (Reuters)

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – The grandson of the late actor Clark Gable was charged in Los Angeles on Tuesday with pointing a laser at a police helicopter and momentarily blinding two officers on board, prosecutors said.

Clark James Gable, 22, was set to be arraigned on Friday on three counts of discharging a laser at an aircraft.

The late actor's namesake aimed the green laser at a Los Angeles police helicopter flying above a nighttime event in Hollywood on July 28, according to the local District Attorney's Office.

The laser was flashed twice more at the helicopter, and the officers determined the beam came from a small red car, prosecutors said. Officers on the ground stopped the vehicle, and arrested Gable, who was riding as a passenger.

Gable faces up to three years in prison if convicted.

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.

(Reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis: Editing by Cynthia Johnston)

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Dazzled cops arrest Clark Gable in Hollywood (AFP)

LOS ANGELES (AFP) – Clark Gable, a grandson of the late movie legend, was arrested in Hollywood for allegedly pointing a laser device at a police helicopter.

The 22-year-old was detained with a friend after a patrolling police pilot reported a "bright green laser light" had illuminated his cockpit over Sunset Boulevard.

"Suddenly the cockpit was illuminated with green light, a laser light, the pilot took evasive action," Gus Villanueva of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD)'s Hollywood station told the local KCAL9 television station.

Officers on the ground traced the source of the light to a car, inside which were Clark James Gable and a friend, Maximilian Anderson, 23. They were booked for a felony and held on $250,000 bail.

Gable was released later in the day, and is due to appear in court on August 26. "It was a misunderstanding, you know, people make mistakes and you learn from them," Gable told KCAL9.

He said 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."

His grandfather was most famous as Rhett Butler in 1939's "Gone for the Wind," which earned him an Oscar nomination, five years after he won an Academy Award for his role in "It Happened One Night."

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