No one's ever happy with getting a traffic ticket, let alone having their car towed away.

But a 21-year-old Burbank man allegedly took his anger to another level when he tried to have someone kill the officer who wrote him a ticket and impounded his car.

John Stephen Forbush pleaded not guilty and has spent the last month behind bars after police were tipped off to the murder scheme, according to police.

"We're not going to tolerate anybody reacting to police action in that way," said Sgt. Mitzi Grasso of the Los Angeles Police Department. "We're actively moving forward with the investigation."

The District Attorney's office remained tight-lipped about details of the pending case. But police officials said in August, Forbush allegedly provided a hit man with the officer's name, serial number and description, and said he wanted him shot in the head and buried in the desert.

He allegedly offered to pay $200. But the alleged hit man was later arrested for driving under the influence, so Forbush tried to hire someone else. That person alerted investigators from LAPD's Robbery Homicide Division instead, police said.

"This was a malicious act, which could have easily resulted in the death of an LAPD officer," said Paul Weber, president of the Los Angeles Police Protective League. "Thankfully LAPD Robbery Homicide Division detectives stopped what could have been a horrific murder."

Forbush's alternate public defender, David Cho, called the case "a weird one" and "complicated."

"The charge sounds serious, but it's probably not as serious as it sounds," Cho said last week after appearing in court with his client.

If convicted, Forbush could face up to nine years in prison, according to prosecutor Frank Tavelman.

"We take solicitation of murder of police officers very seriously," Tavelman said. "We want to make sure our officers are safe especially with an increase in violence against peace officers."

Forbush, a 2008 graduate of Burbank's John Burroughs High School, worked as a courtesy clerk at a Ralphs supermarket in Glendale before becoming a salesman and graphic designer for a North Hollywood business he co-founded wholesaling video games and adult movies.

His family and business partner could not be reached for comment. A number listed for his company is no longer in service.

The alleged plot follows several incidents this year of violence against police officers resulting from traffic stops.

In May, two El Monte police officers investigating a hit-and-run were shot by the collision suspect who had returned to the scene, according to news reports. The suspect then drove off and struck a responding police unit.

Last week, a man suspected of stealing a van in Fremont struck a motorcycle officer, dragging him across two lanes of traffic. The suspect was arrested in East Los Angeles.