'Devil in Ozarks' planned prison escape for months, cited lax security in kitchen, report says
The Department of Corrections' critical incident review of Grant Hardin's May 25 escape from the Calico Rock prison provides the most detailed description so far of his planning and the issues that allowed him to walk out of the facility.
Hardin was captured 1.5 miles (2.4 kilometers) northwest of the Calico Rock prison on June 6. Authorities said he escaped by donning an outfit he designed to look like a law enforcement uniform.
Hardin, who worked in the prison's kitchen, said he spent six months planning his escape and used black Sharpie markers and laundry he found lying around the kitchen to create the fake uniform, according to the report. Hardin fashioned a fake badge using the lid of a can.
'Hardin stated he would hide the clothes and other items he was going to need in the bottom of a trash can in the kitchen due to no one ever shaking it down,' the report says.
Two prison employees have been fired for procedure violations that led to Hardin's escape. They include a kitchen employee who allowed Hardin on a back dock unsupervised and a tower guard who unlocked the back gate that Hardin walked through without confirming his identity. Several other employees have been suspended and one demoted, lawmakers were told this week.
The kitchen's staff was 'very lax on security,' Hardin told investigators, allowing him to gather what he needed for his escape. Hardin said he didn't have any help from staff or other inmates. Hardin had constructed a ladder from wooden pallets in case he needed to scale the prison fence but didn't need it.
'(Hardin) stated when he walked up to the gate, he just directed the officer to 'open the gate,' and he did,' the report says.
After he escaped from the prison, Hardin survived on food he had smuggled out of the prison along with distilled water from his CPAP machine. Hardin also drank creek water and ate berries, bird eggs and ants.
'He said his plan was to hide in the woods for six months if need be and begin moving west out of the area,' the report says.
Hardin, a former police chief in the small town of Gateway, near the Arkansas- Missouri border, is serving lengthy sentences for murder and rape. He was the subject of the TV documentary 'Devil in the Ozarks.'
The report is one of two reviews into Hardin's escape, which is also being investigated by the Arkansas State Police. A legislative subcommittee has also been holding hearings about the escape.
Republican Rep. Howard Beaty, who co-chairs the Legislative Council's Charitable, Penal and Correctional Institutions Subcommittee, said the panel hoped to discuss both reports with officials at a hearing next month.
Republican Sen. Ben Gilmore, who sits on the panel, said he didn't think the department's review took a thorough enough look at the systemic issues that enabled Hardin's escape.
'They have focused on the final failure instead of all of the things that led up to it,' he said.
The report also cites confusion among corrections officials in the early stages of Hardin's escape about which law enforcement agencies had been notified, the report says.
'It is obvious there was a lot of confusion during the beginning stages of opening the command center and of notifications being made,' the report says.
Hardin had been misclassified and shouldn't have been held at the primarily medium-security prison, according to the review. After he was captured, Hardin was moved to a maximum-security prison. He has pleaded not guilty to escape charges, and his trial is set for November.
Hardin's custody classification hadn't been reviewed since October 2019, the report says.
The Department of Corrections' review says officials had taken several steps since Hardin's escape, including removing the electric locks from the gates to prevent someone from walking out without an officer present.
The report also calls for additional cameras after finding a blind spot on the dock Hardin used, and for any 'shakedown' searches for contraband to include mechanical rooms and side rooms.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
28 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Burglar shot and killed by mother protecting her baby during home invasion is identified - and his past is terrifying
A burglar shot and killed by a mother as she hid her baby in a closet during a home invasion was a serial criminal who'd only recently been freed from jail. Shelby Hurd, 36, died last Tuesday after being blasted in the head with a bullet while entering the unidentified mother's home in Joliet, Illinois. Patch reported that Hurd was only freed on parole in February this year over a slew of previous burglary convictions. In 2024, he pleaded guilty to two separate burglary incidents that took place 10 days apart in March 2022. Hurd was sentenced to four years with 170 days credit for time served. It is unclear how he ended up being freed back onto the streets in early 2025. The burglar also spent previous stints behind bars over 2019 charges for burglary of a vehicle, possession of a stolen vehicle and being a felon in possession of a weapon. His Facebook profile contained numerous disturbing posts, including one shortly after his release from prison earlier this year where he said: 'Sacrificed my peace and sleep. 'I did some sh (sic) you couldn't imagine.' Another post made in April 2023 - before Hurd's most recent incarceration - said: 'I'm from the streets… Better look both ways before you cross me.' Hurd's final burglary saw him break into the home of the woman - who he did not know - around 10:30pm on Tuesday August 12. He was wearing gloves and carrying a screwdriver, police say. The mother who was in the house realized it was being broken into and rushed to an upstairs bedroom with her newborn. She placed the infant in a closet to try and keep them safe just as Hurd burst into that room. The mom opened fire and shot Hurd in the head. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Last week's horror took place on a peaceful suburban street whose large homes are surrounded by greenery. Joliet sits around 40 miles southwest of Chicago. The city's downtown area is known to have a crime problem, but the burglary took place about seven miles west in a very quiet area. Joliet Police said an investigation into the burglary and shooting was ongoing. They said the mother who shot and killed Hurd was cooperating fully. Many commenters on Joliet Police Department's Facebook post about the shooting hailed the mother, with one even calling for her to be granted the freedom of the city. Illinois does not have a 'stand your ground' law, with locals encouraged to try and retreat before using deadly force. But exceptions apply - including during a home invasion such as the one that unfolded last week.
The Independent
30 minutes ago
- The Independent
Exclusive: RHONY star accuses iconic artist ex-fiancée of sexual harassment and millions of dollars in theft
In honoring Mickalene Thomas this spring as one of Time magazine's 100 most influential people of 2025, 16-time Grammy-winner Alicia Keys called the celebrated American contemporary artist 'a mastermind at conveying poignant messages through striking visuals.' 'Mickalene herself is walking art,' Keys wrote in her paean to the 54-year-old Brooklyn resident. 'She has such a distinct presence and aura that it's impossible not to feel inspired by her. The art and the artist both are bold, fearless, and fierce.' But Thomas' former fiancée Racquel Chevremont, who continued to partner professionally with Thomas following the pair's 2020 breakup, says the artist sexually harassed her, created a 'hostile' and 'abusive' working environment and shorted her out of millions of dollars over the course of their decade-long relationship. That's according to previously unreported court documents obtained by The Independent, which reveal Chevremont wants a minimum of $10 million from Thomas over allegations that include breach of contract, unjust enrichment, retaliation and violations of state and local human rights laws. Thomas's work can also be found in, among other places, MoMA, the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C., and Jay-Z's Manhattan offices. Thomas's 2016 mixed-media rendering of Chevremont, a well-regarded art curator and consultant who joined the Real Housewives of New York cast last year, sold at auction five years later for more than $1.8 million. Messages sent to Thomas's work and personal email addresses went unanswered. Chevremont's legal and management teams did not respond to requests for comment. In a summons and notice filed in New York State Supreme Court on August 8, Chevremont says she is now seeking 'redress for years of exploitation, nonpayment and unlawful conduct.' 'From 2012 to 2022, Ms. Chevremont, who is also Ms. Thomas' former fiancée, contributed immeasurably to Ms. Thomas' artistic and commercial success, acting as a strategic advisor, and liaison to galleries, collectors, and institutions,' the filing contends. 'Despite these work-related contributions, Ms. Chevremont was paid improperly for more than a decade, both as an employee and under a written agreement effective January 1, 2021, as well as for compensation prior to 2021 and for multimillion-dollar deals she negotiated on Ms. Thomas' behalf.' Chevremont was reportedly entitled to a 20 percent cut on sales of commissioned works she helped land. The filing further accuses Thomas of having 'illegally diverted significant funds and business opportunities from her and Ms. Chevremont's jointly-owned entity' to her own LLC. 'In addition to diverting funds and not properly compensating Ms. Chevremont, Ms. Thomas also subjected Ms. Chevremont to a hostile and abusive work environment as well as quid pro quo harassment,' the filing alleges. Following their split, it says Thomas 'repeatedly and improperly pressured Ms. Chevremont to resume their romantic relationship, and ultimately terminated Ms. Chevremont's employment, in violation of New York State and New York City Human Rights Laws, when she made it clear that this would never happen.' Chevremont is asking a judge to award her 'not less than' $10 million, plus interest, attorneys' fees and court costs. While they were together, Thomas and Chevremont billed themselves as ' Deux Femmes Noires,' and used their resources and connections to boost young Black and LGBT artists. The two first met in 2002, began dating in 2011, and were engaged in 2019, on New Year's Eve. Raised in the Bronx, Chevremont has appeared in ad campaigns for L'Oréal, Fila and Benetton. She has two children with ex-husband Corey Baylor, a New York City financier, and became the second-ever LGBTQ+ cast member on RHONY when she signed on for season 15. 'My entire adult life has been about representation and using whatever platform I have to get the voices of queer folks of the diaspora out there,' Chevremont told GLAAD in June 2024. 'What better way to do so if not as a member of this iconic franchise?' Bravo, which produces and broadcasts the reality series, announced at the time that Chevremont would be 'living out a fairytale' onscreen, and would not 'let past rumors from the New York art scene get in the way of her happily ever after." Her current fiancée, motorcycle-riding forensic neuropsychologist Mel Corpus, was dubbed ' ludicrously hot ' by Vogue. 'Mel and I, we've been friends for over 12 years,' Chevremont said in her first RHONY episode. 'We were very single when we got together, but there was a bit of a scandal. There were a few people that were not all that happy.' Chevremont announced her engagement to Corpus on the air last October, flaunting a diamond ring that, as PEOPLE magazine joked, could ' be seen from outer space.' Thomas now has a little less than three weeks to formally respond to Chevremont's allegations.
The Independent
30 minutes ago
- The Independent
Second trial in killing of rapper Young Dolph starts in Memphis
The trial of a man charged with organizing the daytime ambush killing of rapper Young Dolph at a Memphis bakery in November 2021 began on Monday. Hernandez Govan, 45, was indicted on first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit first-degree murder and attempted murder charges about a year after Young Dolph was killed. Prosecutors have accused him of organizing the fatal shooting. Young Dolph, whose legal name was Adolph Thornton Jr., was a rapper, independent label owner and producer who grew up in Memphis and was admired in the city for his charitable works. The 36-year-old was in his hometown to hand out Thanksgiving turkeys to families when his visit to his favorite cookie shop turned into an attack that shocked the entertainment world. Govan is charged with conspiring with Justin Johnson and Cornelius Smith Jr. to kill Young Dolph. Johnson was convicted of first-degree murder in September 2024 and the same day, sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole. He was later sentenced for his two other convictions from the trial: conspiracy to commit murder and being a felon in possession of a gun. During the trial, Smith testified that rapper Yo Gotti's brother, Anthony 'Big Jook' Mims, had put out a $100,000 hit on Young Dolph as well as bounties on all the artists at Young Dolph's record label, Paper Route Empire. Smith said he and Johnson were 'looking for somebody' and 'didn't know who we were going to catch.' They knew that Young Dolph and some of the artists on his label were participating in the turkey giveaway, so they were heading in that direction when they saw Young Dolph's car. They followed him to the cookie shop and opened fire in broad daylight, Smith said. Young Dolph was hit 22 times and died at the scene. At the earlier trials, prosecutor Paul Hagerman told trial jurors that Cocaine Muzik Group (now known as Collective Music Group), a rival record label founded by Yo Gotti, wanted Young Dolph to work for them, but he turned them down. Young Dolph later wrote diss tracks directed at the label, its artists and its 'No. 2 person,' Big Jook. Big Jook was shot and killed outside a restaurant earlier this year. Smith testified he received $800 before he was arrested and his defense attorney later received another $50,000. In addition to Smith's testimony, prosecutors presented a large amount of circumstantial evidence, including from surveillance cameras and Johnson's cellphone. The evidence includes calls between Smith and Johnson shortly before the killing and a call between Johnson and Big Jook immediately after. Smith is also charged with murder and conspiracy to commit murder and has pleaded not guilty. A trial date has not been set for him. Jermarcus Johnson, who pleaded guilty in June 2023 to three counts of serving as an accessory after the killing, acknowledged helping his half-brother and Smith communicate by cellphone while they were on the run from authorities. He was sentenced to six years' probation in 2024. Young Dolph began his career by releasing numerous mixtapes. His studio albums include his 2016 debut, 'King of Memphis.' He also collaborated on other mixtapes and albums with fellow rappers Key Glock, Megan Thee Stallion, T.I., Gucci Mane, 2 Chainz and others. Young Dolph had three albums reach the top 10 on the Billboard 200, with 2020′s 'Rich Slave' peaking at No. 4. In a 2024 interview with The Associated Press, Carlisa Brown, Young Dolph's sister, called her brother's killing a 'very senseless murder' and added that his family wants everyone involved to get the justice they deserve. ___ Travis Loller contributed from Nashville, Tenn.
