SEBASTIAN COUNTY, Ark. – Officials with the Sebastian County Sheriff’s Office said a local police officer is facing charges relating to the theft and pawning of department guns.

Officials said the investigation was launched after the Mansfield Police Chief reported two guns were stolen out of a file cabinet in his office on Oct. 17. Investigators found that the guns had been pawned in Fort Smith by Mansfield Police Officer 42-year-old Stephen E. Townley, a two-year veteran of the force.

Townley is facing two charges of felony theft by receiving, firearms, and a single count of felony release or disclosure to an unauthorized person, the latter regarding using the Arkansas Crime Information Center (ACIC) to see if the guns had been stolen.

A warrant affidavit shows Townley admitted to an

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