Ex-Laguna Police Officer Pleads Not Guilty To Assault Charges

LAGUNA BEACH, CA — An ex-Laguna Beach police officer accused of holding a gun to a fellow officer's head during a night of partying pleaded not guilty Monday to an assault with a deadly weapon charge.

Luke Christian Gilbertson, 35, also faces a sentence-enhancing allegation for the personal use of a firearm and faces up to 19 years in prison.

Gilbertson, who is free on $50,000 bail, will return to court Oct. 5 for a pretrial hearing at the Central Justice Center in Santa Ana.

Gilbertson went out with three other Laguna Beach police officers and a police dispatcher to a pool and barbecue party, as well as two other places where alcoholic drinks were consumed last Sept. 23, according to the Orange County District Attorney's Office.

As the group drove home in the same vehicle from a Santa Ana bar, Gilbertson allegedly pulled out a gun and held it to the head of a fellow officer.

one was injured during the incident, prosecutors say.