Sulphur Springs Police Chief Pleads Not Guilty

A not guilty plea to one charge of felony theft of property was entered Monday on behalf of a former Sulphur Springs police chief.



Andrew Jacob Little, 24, was to be arraigned before Benton County Senior Circuit Judge Tom Keith.



His attorney, Doug Norwood, waived that arraignment and asked that a not guilty plea be entered.



Keith set an omnibus hearing for Aug. 18 and a jury trial for Oct. 7.



Little was arrested in April and released on citation. He was later fired from his job.



According to court documents, he lived in a house with his stepfather, Richard Cummins, and a sergeant at his department, Jeremiah Nicholson.

Cummins had a job that required frequent travel. In March, Little told him the house was burglarized and several of Cummins' firearms were stolen. Little said a report was filed, a suspect arrested, and the firearms were recovered by the Fort Smith Police Department.



In April, Cummins was in Fort Smith and stopped by the police department to check on the status of his guns. He was told they had no record of his guns, which included a 12-gauge pump shotgun, several pistols and two rifles.



Little had a poor financial situation at the time and had borrowed money from Cummins, according to court documents.



Later that month, an audio device was placed on Cummins by police and a conversation with Little was recorded. Little said guns were in custody of the Sebastian County Sheriff's Office and that he should have them back soon.



A few days later, Gentry and Bentonville police recovered several of the firearms at pawn shops in Bentonville and Centerton.



Little later admitted to police that Nicholson pawned the guns at his request and they used the money to pay bills, court documents state.



Nicholson told police that Little claimed the guns were his. He pawned them for $3,400 and gave the money to Little, court documents state.



The charge against Little is punishable by up to 20 years in prison.