A teacher in Arkansas has pled not guilty to charges that he stole shotguns owned by his school’s skeet shooting club. From WMC Action News 5:

ASHDOWN, Ark. (AP) – An Ashdown School District teacher who coached the district’s skeet shooting club has pleaded not guilty to charges of stealing shotguns used by the club.

The Texarkana Gazette reported (http://bit.ly/1zRF553 ) Friday that 41-year-old Terry Simmons pleaded not guilty to two counts of theft of property. Simmons allegedly sold or traded the guns at a pawn shop.

The guns were among 10 used by the skeet club and kept in a safe at the Little River County Sheriff’s Office. Just three guns were in the safe when a new coach took over the club and asked for an inventory. Authorities say Simmons provided three more guns that he said had been at his home.

Ashdown Superintendent Jason Sanders says Simmons is on leave from the district.

Good on the school for having a skeet shooting club in the first place. Where I grew up, that sort of thing as a school-sanctioned activity would have been extremely rare. Hopefully the issue gets resolved quickly.