[KHTS] – A now-retired Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputy from Stevenson Ranch pleaded not guilty Wednesday to charges he fired his gun in the air last year near a group of children.

Sung Jin Pak, 48, who was suspended with pay after the incident, is  due back in court Aug. 21 in Division 3 at Los Angeles County Superior Court in Valencia.

An attorney for Pak, who was ordered to not have any firearms in his possession, appeared on his behalf.

In court Tuesday, Pak was officially charged with firing his gun after a group of children repeatedly rang his doorbell and then ran away, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.

Steve Whitmore, former spokesman for the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, said the incident took place Oct. 12, 2013, around 8:10 p.m.

Ding-dong-ditch is when kids ring the doorbell and then run away before the resident can answer the door, a Sheriff’s Department official said.

There was about 15-20 children, from younger kids to teenagers, Whitmore said.

“They came back a second time and (Pak) followed them on foot,” he said.

Pak apparently caught up to three of the teenagers.

When it looked like a few of the older ones were going to confront Pak, he identified himself as a sheriff’s deputy, pulled out his service revolver and fired a round into the air as a warning shot, Whitmore said.

He was arrested on May 16 after reports caused suspicion. He was then relieved of duty, and suspended with pay while the investigation was being conducted.

– Kimberly Beers