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Associated Press
3 hours ago
- General
- Associated Press
Arkansas authorities release photo rendering of 'Devil in the Ozarks' as manhunt continues
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Arkansas authorities on Tuesday released a photo rendering of a convicted murderer and former police chief known as the 'Devil in the Ozarks " as the search for the escaped inmate entered its second week. The Arkansas Department of Corrections said the photo rendering of Grant Hardin, 56, depicts how he may look after he escaped May 25 from the Calico Rock prison. The rendering shows Hardin with some hair on his head and face. Authorities have said Hardin escaped by donning an outfit designed to look like a law enforcement uniform. Rand Champion, a department spokesperson, said officials are focusing their search on the north-central Arkansas region where the prison is located. Tips from elsewhere about potential Hardin sightings have come in, but so far none have panned out, Champion said. Hardin, a former police chief in the small town of Gateway near the Arkansas-Missouri border, was serving lengthy sentences for murder and rape. He was the subject of the TV documentary 'Devil in the Ozarks.' Hardin was housed in a maximum-security wing of the primarily medium security prison, formally known as the North Central Unit. Officials are investigating whether a job Hardin held in the kitchen aided in his escape, including whether it gave him access to materials he could have used to fashion his makeshift uniform.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Former Charles Manson follower is recommended for parole
A California state parole board recommended parole for Patricia Krenwinkel, a follower of the cult leader Charles Manson, on Friday for the second time. The decision will now have to be approved by the Board of Parole Hearings and California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who denied Krenwinkel's first parole recommendation. The governor's review process can take up to 150 days following a parole hearing. The 77-year-old is serving a life sentence in the California Institution for Women for her role in the killings of pregnant actor Sharon Tate and four others in August 1969, as well as grocer Leno LaBianca and his wife, Rosemary, the following night in what prosecutors have called Manson's attempt to start a race war. She was convicted on seven counts of first-degree murder in April 1971. Krenwinkel was recommended for parole for the first time in May 2022, but Newsom denied clemency five months later, according to Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation inmate records. She was previously denied parole 14 times before then. Friday's parole suitability hearing was Krenwinkel's 16th, David Maldonado, deputy chief of strategic communications and external affairs for the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, confirmed. Krenwinkel was 19 and working as a secretary when she met a 33-year-old Manson at a party, leaving her life behind to follow him because she believed they could have a romantic relationship, she said in 2016 testimony. Instead, she was abused by Manson and tried to flee, but was brought back each time and was often under the influence of drugs. Krenwinkel admitted to stabbing an heiress to a coffee fortune, Abigail Folger, multiple times on the night of Aug. 9, 1969, as well as participating in the killings of the LaBiancas the following night. During the LaBianca murders, she infamously wrote 'Helter Skelter' and other phrases on the wall in her victims' blood. She, along with other participants including Manson, were convicted and sentenced to death. However, their sentences were commuted to life with the possibility parole in 1972, after the death penalty was briefly ruled unconstitutional in California. Krenwinkel is now the state's longest-serving inmate. The California governor's office did not immediately respond to NBC News' requests for comment. This article was originally published on
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Will Rockview and Quehanna close? Decision still ‘pending,' Shapiro admin says
After previously announcing that a decision on whether to close Rockview state prison and Quehanna Boot Camp would come in May, Gov. Josh Shapiro's administration said Friday that the final decision is still 'pending.' The state Department of Corrections said it is 'continuing to consider feedback from stakeholders and review is ongoing.' The agency did not provide an updated timeline for its decision. The DOC said in press release issued at the beginning of the month that it expected to make its decision public by the end of May. The delay will prolong a period of anxiety and frustration for hundreds of employees and their families, many of whom could be relocated to other state prisons and have their carefully coordinated schedules upended. Kalli Boone, the wife of a corrections officer who works at Rockview, told the Centre Daily Times 'we have been lied to since the beginning.' 'They said they're going to be transparent about this. They haven't been,' Boone said. 'They lied to us about the facts and why it's being done. They don't even have the decency or common courtesy of informing us of anything. It is very stressful on all the families involved.' Centre County leaders have warned of 'potential disaster' if Shapiro's administration follows through with its proposal. The county commissioners estimated the central Pennsylvania economy stands to lose $118 million annually. But the delay also figures to give a bipartisan group of state lawmakers opposed to the closures more time to make their case to the state's chief executive. Shapiro's administration has pitched its proposal as a way to save about $120 million in the face of shrinking state prison populations, high vacancy and turnover rates among corrections officers and massive overtime payments. Rockview is the second-oldest among the nearly two dozen in the DOC system and the agency has said it would require $74 million in upgrades over the next five years — the highest cost of any state prison. All affected employees will be guaranteed a job offer at their existing pay and classification at a facility within 67 miles of Rockview, though the DOC has made no promises about shift assignments. Workers may also face longer commutes. The Pennsylvania Prison Society has been generally supportive of the proposal, saying it could save money and keep Pennsylvanians safe if done properly. The nonprofit has said Rockview is in serious disrepair. The proposal has been deeply unpopular in Centre County, where state lawmakers, the county's commissioners and the union that represents corrections officers were among those who repeatedly urged the state to reconsider over the past 3 1/2 months.
CNN
27-05-2025
- CNN
A former police chief serving time for murder and rape escaped from an Arkansas prison. Here is what we know
CrimeFacebookTweetLink Follow A former small-town police chief in Arkansas escaped from prison Sunday while serving decades-long prison sentences for murder and rape and is still on the loose, officials said. Grant Hardin, 56, escaped from a state prison in northern Arkansas on Sunday afternoon, after he appears to have tried to imitate law enforcement to break out, the state's Department of Corrections said. Multiple agencies across the state, including state police and several sheriff's offices, are coordinating to try to find Hardin. The escape comes after 10 inmates escaped from a New Orleans jail a little over a week ago. While seven people have been charged in relation to that escape, it is not immediately clear how Hardin orchestrated his. Here is what we know about the former police chief: Hardin escaped the North Central Unit prison in Calico Rock around 3:40 p.m. Sunday, a news release from the state's Department of Corrections said. It appears at the time of his escape, Hardin was 'wearing a makeshift outfit designed to mimic law enforcement,' but was not wearing a Department of Corrections uniform, a Sunday night update from the department said. It did not share any other information on how he is thought to have escaped. A surveillance image appears to show Hardin wearing black pants, a black T-shirt and a black baseball cap, as well as an additional item that looks like a bulletproof vest. He appears to be wheeling a cart holding a box and several pieces of wood. Authorities believe he exited through a sally port, a controlled and secure entry point found in places such as prisons, the Stone County Sheriff's office said. Hardin, who's been in prison since 2017, was previously the police chief for the small town of Gateway near the Missouri border, with additional background in law enforcement. He served as a police officer, a police chief and a county constable throughout his career, according to an Investigation Discovery documentary on the case. (Investigation Discovery, like CNN, is owned by Warner Bros. Discovery.) Hardin has been serving a 30-year sentence for first-degree murder, as well as two 25-year sentences for two counts of rape, according to Arkansas prison records and court documents. He pleaded guilty to first-degree murder for the death of James Appleton, who worked for the City of Gateway's water department, in February 2017, according to court documents. Hardin was accused of stopping and shooting Appleton in the head while driving down a road approximately half a mile from his home, documents show. He pleaded down from a capital murder charge. At the time of his sentencing, Hardin addressed the family of the victim while entering his guilty plea, saying he didn't know how to express it, but that he was sorry, CNN affiliate KHBS reported. Two years later, he also pleaded guilty to two counts of rape after his DNA, which was entered into the Arkansas DNA database following his murder plea, was connected to the 1997 rape of schoolteacher Amy Harrison, court documents show. Harrison was at the school on a Sunday preparing for the week while a church service was being held in the cafeteria, an affidavit said. She used the bathroom in the teacher's lounge, and when she came out, she was attacked by a man pointing a gun at her, the document said. Documents show Hardin was frustrated with his court-appointed attorney following his guilty plea in the murder case, saying he had wanted to withdraw his plea and had a difficult time accessing resources to submit for post-conviction relief, court documents show. The attorney, Shane Wilkinson, told CNN he has been in contact with local law enforcement and hasn't heard from Hardin since his escape. Police have been conducting safety checks on his home and business since the escape, he added. While in prison in 2019, Hardin completed a program on anger management, prison records show. As of 11:30 p.m. local time on Sunday, Hardin still hasn't been located, the Arkansas Department of Corrections said in an updated news release. CNN has reached out to the department and Arkansas State Police for a status on the search. 'Officials continue to utilize a variety of means to track Hardin, as well as investigating the events that led up to his escape,' the Department of Corrections said Sunday night. 'Further updates will be provided as they become available.' No updates have been provided since Sunday night. Hardin is 6 feet tall and approximately 259 pounds, prison records show. Authorities have asked anyone who has information on his location to contact local law enforcement immediately.
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Yahoo
Northern California prison officials investigate murder of inmate
( — The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation officials are investigating the death of an inmate at Mule Creek State Prison as a homicide. Around 5:14 p.m. on May 21, officers said they found Longeno Jones unresponsive in his cell during medication distribution. Jones' cellmate, Jesse A. Ferdin, was removed from the cell and placed in the restrictive housing unit while law enforcement investigated the scene. Man disappears amid attempt to walk from Northern California to the ocean According to Mule Creek, staff immediately began life-saving measures and called 911. Jones was transported to the prison's triage and treatment area, where he was pronounced deceased by paramedics at 5:45 p.m. The incident is under investigation by MCSP Investigative Services Unit and the Amador County District Attorney's Office. The Office of the Inspector General was notified, and the Amador Coroner will determine official cause of death. Could California see the end of conjugal visits at state prisons amid deaths of women? Jones, 51, was received from Los Angeles County on July 19, 2007. He was sentenced to life with the possibility of parole for first-degree burglary as a third striker, with enhancements for prior prison term/nonviolent new offenses, and prior felony convictions of serious offenses. Ferdin, 54, was most recently received from Alameda County on Jan. 28, 2019. He was sentenced to twelve years for rape with force, violence, and fear of bodily injury as a second striker. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
