Five students in Greenwood are facing misdemeanor charges after police said they damaged the car belonging to a former teacher accused of harassment.
Gilberto Huerta told police he saw several children running from his property as he was returning to his home on Meadow Bridge Drive late Friday evening (Feb. 21).
Lt. Nicholas Driscoll with the Greenwood Police Department said during the course of the investigation, five Greenwood school district students were identified as the suspects.
"While on the property, they took the hubcaps off his automobile and took five lug nuts off one wheel and three of them off the other," said Driscoll.
The teens were interviewed by police on Monday (Feb. 24), and all five suspects confessed to the crimes, according to Driscoll. Each student was cited on suspicion of criminal mischief, a misdemeanor.
Huerta was arrested Friday on suspicion of harassment after resigning from the Greenwood school district earlier in the week. According to school officials, Huerta had been a teacher with the district for four years.
Huerta pleaded not guilty to the charges before a Sebastian County judge Monday. The county clerk's office said his trial is scheduled for April 23 at 1 p.m.