Former police chief, serving murder and rape sentences, escapes from Arkansas prison

B

bnew

Veteran
Joined
Nov 1, 2015
Messages
66,164
Reputation
10,217
Daps
179,381
apnews.com

Former police chief, serving murder and rape sentences, escapes from Arkansas prison

A former police chief in Arkansas who is serving decades-long sentences for murder and rape escaped from prison Sunday.
apnews.com apnews.com



Former police chief, serving murder and rape sentences, escapes from Arkansas prison​


Updated 2:05 AM EDT, May 26, 2025

CALICO ROCK, Ark. (AP) — A former police chief in Arkansas who is serving decades-long sentences for murder and rape escaped from prison Sunday, state corrections officials said.

Grant Hardin, the former police chief of the tiny town of Gateway near the Arkansas-Missouri border, escaped from the North Central Unit in Calico Rock, where he has been held since 2017. Corrections officials did not provide any details about how he escaped.

They did say that Garvin had disguised himself and was “wearing a makeshift outfit designed to mimic law enforcement when he escaped the North Central Unit.”

The Division of Correction and the Division of Community Correction are following leads with local, state and federal law enforcement agencies.

Hardin pleaded guilty in October 2017 to first-degree murder in connection with the shooting death of 59-year-old James Appleton. According to an affidavit filed in the case, Appleton worked for the Gateway water department and was talking to his brother-in-law, then Gateway Mayor Andrew Tillman, when he was shot in the head on Feb. 23, 2017 near Garfield. Police found Appleton’s body inside a car.

Hardin, who was Gateway’s police chief for about four months in early 2016, was sentenced to 30 years in prison. He is also serving 50 years in prison for the 1997 rape of an elementary school teacher in Rogers north of Fayetteville.

KFSM-TV, reporting on his guilty plea in 2019, wrote that police used DNA samples from the crime scene to apply for a John Doe Warrant in 2003 as the statute of limitations neared. The DNA was tested against old and new profiles, and investigators got a match when Hardin was imprisoned for killing Appleton.
 
B

bnew

Veteran
Joined
Nov 1, 2015
Messages
66,164
Reputation
10,217
Daps
179,381
www.cbsnews.com

Ex-police chief escapes from Arkansas prison where he was serving murder, rape sentences

Grant Hardin, a former police chief who was convicted of rape and murder, escaped from prison in Arkansas on Sunday.
www.cbsnews.com www.cbsnews.com



Ex-police chief escapes from Arkansas prison where he was serving murder, rape sentences​


Updated on: May 26, 2025 / 5:55 AM EDT / CBS/AP

A former police chief who was convicted of rape and murder escaped from the prison where he was serving a 30-year sentence on Sunday, correction officials said.

Grant Hardin had been at North Central Unit, a prison located in Calico Rock, Arkansas, since 2017. He escaped around 3:40 p.m., the Arkansas Department of Corrections said in a social media post.

"Anyone with information about inmate Hardin's whereabouts should contact local law enforcement immediately," the post read.

Later, the department said in a social media post that, "It has been determined that Hardin was wearing a makeshift outfit designed to mimic law enforcement when he escaped the North Central Unit. He was not wearing a Department of Corrections uniform, and all DOC-issued equipment has been accounted for."

According to CBS affiliate KFSM-TV, the Stone County Sheriff's Office said Hardin was seen leaving the prison in an Arkansas Department of Corrections uniform.

screenshot-2025-05-25-at-9-50-46-pm.png


Photos of Grant Hardin provided by the Arkansas Department of Corrections. Arkansas Department of Corrections

Hardin was the former police chief for the city of Gateway, Arkansas, a small town with just a few hundred residents.

Hardin pleaded guilty in October 2017 to first-degree murder in connection with the shooting death of 59-year-old James Appleton. According to an affidavit filed in the case, Appleton worked for the Gateway water department and was talking to his brother-in-law, then-Gateway Mayor Andrew Tillman, when he was shot in the head on Feb. 23, 2017, near Garfield. Police found Appleton's body inside a car.

Hardin is also serving 50 years in prison for the 1997 rape of an elementary school teacher in Rogers, north of Fayetteville.

CBS Fort Smith, Ark. affiliate KFSM reported in 2019 that police in 2003 used DNA samples from the rape victim's clothes to apply for a "John Doe" warrant since the statute of limitations was close to expiring. Investigators eventually got a match after Hardin was imprisoned for Appleton's killing.

Hardin pleaded guilty to two counts of rape and was given 25 years for each count, KFSM reported.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top