U.S. Marshals Museum CEO resigns as he awaits assault trial

FORT SMITH, Ark. (AP) — The head of the U.S. Marshals Museum has resigned while awaiting trial on felony charges for pointing a gun at utility workers near his home.

The museum announced the resignation of Patrick Weeks as its CEO on Friday and said it had retained a firm to conduct a national search for his replacement.

Weeks had been placed on administrative leave in December after he was arrested and charged with two counts of aggravated assault with a firearm. A jury trial is scheduled for July.

The announcement Friday did not mention Weeks’ arrest. Museum board Chairman Doug Babb praised the outgoing CEO’s “valuable contributions to the museum project” in a statement.

Weeks had been hired as the museum’s CEO in 2016. The museum said in a release that the search process for his replacement will take about four months. The museum in Fort Smith, near the Oklahoma border, has not opened to the public yet.