Shooting at groundhogs was the reason a Pine Township couple gave for discharging a firearm on July 15. It got them in trouble with state police.

Police got a report of gunfire between 5 and 10 p.m. at 573 Barkeyville Road. When they arrived, resident Marlene S. Christy, 42, told police her husband had been shooting at groundhogs in the direction of a Grove City ballfield. Police determined it was while a game was being played.

Her husband, Harry A. Christy Jr., who was not home when police arrived, was convicted of a felony in 1979, which prohibits him from using firearms, police said.

Mrs. Christy claimed the Glenfield Model .22-caliber rifle belonged to her. She was charged Aug. 22 with lending a firearm to a prohibited person.

Her husband was charged with two counts of possession of prohibited firearms, two counts of reckless endangerment, two counts of unlawful firing in a safety zone and two counts of hunting without a license.

The reckless endangerment charges were subsequently withdrawn. On Wednesday, the other charges were held to court.

Mrs. Christy is free on $500 bond and her husband is out on $1,000 bond.