'Get Shorty' actor faces gun charge

May 12 2008 Media Wales

Actor Dennis Farina was arrested at Los Angeles International Airport after a loaded gun was found in his hand luggage.

When the weapon was discovered at a security checkpoint yesterday, police said the 64-year-old actor told them that he had forgotten the .22-calibre handgun was in his luggage.

Police Sgt Dennis Beacham. of the LAPD’s Pacific Division, says Farina was booked for investigation of carrying a concealed weapon.

Bail was set at 25,000 dollars (£12,500), before police discovered the weapon was not registered. Charges against Farina have been upgraded to a felony.

He was released after posting bail last night, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department website.

Farina’s latest film, the Ashton Kutcher-Cameron Diaz comedy “What Happens in Vegas,” opened on Friday.

Farina has starred in TV’s “Law & Order” series and in such movies as “Snatch” and “Get Shorty.” The actor is also a former Chicago police officer.