FORT SMITH -- The former president and chief executive officer of the U.S. Marshals Museum pleaded guilty to two charges of aggravated assault with a firearm, a class D felony, in the Sebastian County Circuit Court last week, according to court records.
Patrick Weeks, 53, was set for trial this week.
Weeks was given two suspended prison sentences of six years to be served concurrently, according to a sentencing order filed Wednesday. He was also ordered to pay $2,500 in fines and $150 in court costs, among other fees, as well as to not make contact with the victims involved.
Weeks did not return a cellphone message left Monday afternoon seeking comment. An employee at the law firm of Weeks' attorney, Rex Chronister of Chronister, Fields and Flake in Fort Smith, said Monday the office doesn't comment on any of its clients' cases.
Two men told police Dec. 21 that they were fixing streetlights for Oklahoma Gas & Electric Co. at 3205 S. 28th St. when Weeks wouldn't allow them into his yard to make repairs, according to an arrest report from the Police Department. The men reported they were sitting in their truck when Weeks approached them with a pistol and pointed it at them.
The men drove around the corner, but Weeks followed while pointing the pistol at them, according to the report. They left the area and called police.
Officers arrived about 3 p.m. and spoke with Weeks in his home, the report states. They found Weeks sitting in a chair with a pistol matching the utility workers' description of the weapon on the armrest.
Weeks was arrested Dec. 21 but was released from the Sebastian County jail the following day on a $6,000 bond. He pleaded innocent at his arraignment Dec. 30. His case was filed directly from Fort Smith District Court to Sebastian County Circuit Court before a preliminary hearing Feb. 15.
The Marshals Museum hired Weeks, who had previously worked as head of the museum exhibit consulting firm Strategic Experience Solutions in Dublin, Ohio, in 2016. Weeks was put on administrative leave Dec. 23; he resigned from his position March 4.
The museum announced Aug. 9 it had hired Ben Johnson as the new president and CEO after a national search.
The museum is at 789 Riverfront Drive along the Arkansas River. Construction on the main museum building, which consists of about 53,000 square feet, was completed in January 2020, though the museum will announce an opening date once its exhibits are substantially completed.