SANTA ANA, Calif.—An ex-Laguna Beach police officer pleaded guilty Friday and was immediately sentenced to a day in jail and 20 days of Caltrans work for holding a gun to a fellow officer’s head during a night of partying.
Luke Christian Gilbertson pleaded guilty to a felony count of assault with a semiautomatic firearm and admitted a sentencing enhancement for the personal use of a firearm. He accepted a plea deal from Orange County Superior Court Judge Andre Manssourian, which prosecutors objected to.
Gilberton was given credit for the day in jail and was placed on two years of formal probation.
He could have faced up to 19 years in prison if convicted of the original charges at trial.
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, Sept. 23, 2019, according to the Orange County District Attorney’s Office.
As the group drove home in the same vehicle from a Santa Ana bar, Gilbertson pulled out a gun and held it to the head of a fellow officer. No one was hurt in the incident, prosecutors said.
Gilbertson was a nine-year veteran who ended his employment with Laguna Beach in 2020.
Gilbertson’s attorney, Kenneth Norelli, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
