Former “Law & Order” actor Dennis Farina is facing three misdemeanor weapon charges after he was arrested at Los Angeles International Airport last month, when he attempted to board a flight carrying a semiautomatic gun in his luggage.

When the .22-caliber handgun was discovered at the security checkpoint, Farina told police he had brought the gun with him while driving from Arizona to Los Angeles and then he completely forgot about it, police said in a statement.

The airport’s police said this kind of incidents happen regularly: people forget they have guns in their carry-on luggage.

The city attorney’s office on Wednesday charged the actor with three misdemeanour counts: carrying a concealed firearm, carrying a loaded weapon in public, and possession of a weapon in a secure area of an airport.

The three charges carry a combined maximum sentence of 2 and a half years in jail and $3,000 in fines.

"We felt it more than appropriate to file these three misdemeanor charges," City Attorney's Office spokesman Frank Mateljan told E! News. “They found a .22 caliber handgun in his luggage when he was going through an airport security checkpoint. It’s never safe or advisable to bring a loaded weapon into an airport.”

After he was released from custody on $35,000 bail, the actor blamed himself for the situation, saying he felt very embarrassed.