Latest news with #ColdJustice:SexCrimes
Yahoo
26-05-2025
- Yahoo
Ex-police chief convicted of murder, rape escapes from Arkansas prison
May 26 (UPI) -- Authorites in northwest Arkansas are searching for a former police chief serving time for murder and rape who escaped from prison wearing a makeshift police uniform. The Arkansas Department of Corrections said Grant Hardin, 56, escaped from the North Central Unit in Calico Rock in Izard County at approximately 3:40 p.m. CDT Sunday. Calico Rock is 126 miles north of Litle Rock. The search, which was continuing Monday, is a joint effort of the Department of Corrections, Arkansas State Police, and local and state law enforcement. The prison agency said he "was wearing a makeshift outfit designed to mimic law enforcement" when he escaped. He was not wearing a prison guard uniform and all DOC-issued equipment has been accounted for. Hardin was the former chief of police for the city of Gateway in Benton County, which had a population of 444 people in 2023. He also was a police officer, county constable and corrections officer. Gateway, which is near the Missouri border, is 129 miles west of Calico Rock. Hardin is described as 6 feet, weighing approximately 259 pounds. "Anytime there's an escape, we consider that a threat to the public," Rand Champion with the Arkansas Department of Corrections told KHBS-TV. "He does have a law enforcement background. Anytime something like this exists, we consider it a threat to the community." Since 2017, Hardin has been at the North Central Unit serving a 30-year sentence for first-degree murder, as well as 25 years for each rape count. He pleaded guilty to the murder of James Appleton, 59, a city water employee found shot in the face inside his work truck in October 2017, KNWA reported. A witness told police that Appleton's truck and a white sedan was seen on the side of the road. He said heard a loud boom and saw the sedan drive away. The witness found Appleton slumped over in the seat, with a gunshot wound to the head. His DNA linked him to the rape cold case of a teacher in 1997, the TV station reported. Amy Harrison, a teacher at Frank Tillery Elementary in Rogers, was raped by a man with a gun at the school. While preparing a lesson plan for the week, the teacher was ambushed. "Grant Hardin, in my view and in my personal experience, is one of the most dangerous people that I ever seen for the reason that he does not at first appear that way," Nathan Smith, the prosecuting attorney for Benton County at the time, said. "He is a man capable of a seemingly random, horrific murder as well as a random horrific rape." The sexual assault was profiled on the TNT series Cold Justice: Sex Crimes in 2015.
Miami Herald
26-05-2025
- Miami Herald
Ex-police chief convicted of murder, rape escapes from Arkansas prison
May 26 (UPI) -- Authorites in northwest Arkansas are searching for a former police chief serving time for murder and rape who escaped from prison wearing a makeshift police uniform. The Arkansas Department of Corrections said Grant Hardin, 56, escaped from the North Central Unit in Calico Rock in Izard County at approximately 3:40 p.m. CDT Sunday. Calico Rock is 126 miles north of Litle Rock. The search, which was continuing Monday, is a joint effort of the Department of Corrections, Arkansas State Police, and local and state law enforcement. The prison agency said he 'was wearing a makeshift outfit designed to mimic law enforcement' when he escaped. He was not wearing a prison guard uniform and all DOC-issued equipment has been accounted for. Hardin was the former chief of police for the city of Gateway in Benton County, which had a population of 444 people in 2023. He also was a police officer, county constable and corrections officer. Gateway, which is near the Missouri border, is 129 miles west of Calico Rock. Hardin is described as 6 feet, weighing approximately 259 pounds. 'Anytime there's an escape, we consider that a threat to the public,' Rand Champion with the Arkansas Department of Corrections told KHBS-TV. 'He does have a law enforcement background. Anytime something like this exists, we consider it a threat to the community.' Since 2017, Hardin has been at the North Central Unit serving a 30-year sentence for first-degree murder, as well as 25 years for each rape count. He pleaded guilty to the murder of James Appleton, 59, a city water employee found shot in the face inside his work truck in October 2017, KNWA reported. A witness told police that Appleton's truck and a white sedan was seen on the side of the road. He said heard a loud boom and saw the sedan drive away. The witness found Appleton slumped over in the seat, with a gunshot wound to the head. His DNA linked him to the rape cold case of a teacher in 1997, the TV station reported. Amy Harrison, a teacher at Frank Tillery Elementary in Rogers, was raped by a man with a gun at the school. While preparing a lesson plan for the week, the teacher was ambushed. 'Grant Hardin, in my view and in my personal experience, is one of the most dangerous people that I ever seen for the reason that he does not at first appear that way,' Nathan Smith, the prosecuting attorney for Benton County at the time, said. 'He is a man capable of a seemingly random, horrific murder as well as a random horrific rape.' The sexual assault was profiled on the TNT series Cold Justice: Sex Crimes in 2015. Copyright 2025 UPI News Corporation. All Rights Reserved.
