Teen pleads not guilty in prank

Prosecutors say he helped start a panic at a Newport Beach movie theater.

A Newport Beach teenager pleaded not guilty Thursday to three misdemeanor charges related to a prank last summer in which police say someone started a movie theater panic by bursting through an emergency exit and revving a leaf blower, according to court records.

Colin Hunter Davis, 18, could face up to a year in jail if he is convicted of participating in an unlawful assembly, disturbing the peace and trespassing, according to the Orange County district attorney’s office.

Prosecutors contend that Davis walked into a screening of the thriller “The Gift” at the Edwards Big Newport 6 cinema near Fashion Island without a ticket the night of Aug. 8.

Authorities suspect Davis opened an exit door so that a co-conspirator could enter the theater with a leaf blower.

Moviegoers panicked when they heard the blower’s motor, thinking it was a chain saw or another type of weapon, according to police. Some people in the audience suffered minor injuries in a stampede to the exits.

Shortly afterward, police announced that they believed four people were involved in the incident. After authorities released surveillance camera images of the group at an In-N-Out Burger earlier that evening, all four turned themselves in and began cooperating with investigators, police said.

It was unclear whether Davis was the only one facing charges. Police said the three others involved are juveniles. Davis is not currently in custody, according to court records.