Latest news with #RogersPoliceDepartment
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
From police chief to escaped murderer: Timeline of Arkansas manhunt for Grant Hardin
He's been described as a "sociopath," and "evil" by those who have encountered him, but now Grant Hardin, the former police chief of a small Arkansas town who was imprisoned for murder and rape, is the subject of a massive manhunt since escaping from a correctional facility this week. Hardin, 56, who was briefly police chief in the town of Gateway, near the Arkansas-Missouri border, simply walked out of a guarded gate at the North Central Unit in Calico Rock, Arkansas, on Sunday afternoon, according to a probable cause affidavit charging him with second-degree escape. Hardin was dressed as a law enforcement officer pushing a loading cart in surveillance video that captured him absconding from the prison. MORE: 'Evil man': Search continues for ex-police chief who escaped Arkansas prison "Inmate Hardin impersonated a corrections officer in dress and manner, causing the corrections officer operating the gate to open the gate and allow inmate Hardin to walk away from the North Central Unit," according to the affidavit filed Tuesday in an Izard County court. As police continue to scour the Ozark Mountains for the fugitive, here is a timeline of the violent crimes that got him sentenced to 80 years in prison -- and the brazen escape that has prompted national headlines: Feb. 23, 2017 -- James Appleton, a 59-year-old water department worker for the city of Garfield, Arkansas, in Benton County, is shot in the head and killed by Hardin, prosecutors said. Appleton's body was moved to a car, where investigators found him. October 2017 -- Hardin pleads guilty to murder after the fatal shooting of Appleton. He is sentenced to 30 years in prison. The former police chief never revealed a motive for killing Appleton. Following Hardin's escape, former Benton County, Arkansas, prosecutor Nathan Smith, who helped put Hardin in prison, told ABC News' affiliate station KHBS in Fayetteville, Arkansas, that Hardin is a "sociopath." Smith added, "He's extremely dangerous. He's already proven that he has no moral core or center." MORE: 'Sociopath': Former Arkansas police chief sentenced for murder and rape escapes from prison Amid the ongoing search for Hardin, Appleton's sister, Cheryl Tilman, now the mayor of Gateway, describes Hardin in an interview with KHBS as "an evil man." Feb. 8, 2019 -- While serving his stentence for killing Appleton, Hardin pleads guilty to the 1997 rape of an elementary school teacher in her classroom in Rogers, Arkansas, authorities said. The Rogers Police Department linked Hardin to the rape by matching DNA found at the crime scene to a DNA sample Hardin submitted upon entering prison. He was sentenced to an additional 50 years. May 2023 -- HBO Max releases the real-crime documentary "Devil in the Ozarks" that detailed the rape of the Rogers school teacher and two-decade investigation to bring the perpetrator to justice. May 25, 2025 -- Arkansas Department of Corrections officials announce that Hardin escaped from the North Central Unit prison, while posing as a corrections officer. Surveillance video recorded Hardin at 2:50 p.m. local time pushing a loading cart and wearing what authorities initially described as the type of dark colored uniform worn by Arkansas Department of Corrections (ADC) officers. He was waved through the sally port from which he escaped by a Corrections officer. authorities said. ADC officials later said that Hardin was "wearing a makeshift outfit designed to mimic law enforcement." May 26, 2025 -- The U.S. Marshals Eastern Arkansas Fugitive Task Force announces it is assisting the Izard County Sheriff's Office in the search for Hardin, as officers from multiple law enforcement agencies searched the North Central Unit facility looking for the fugitive. Officers are seen by an ABC News crew stopping and searching vehicles and going door-to-door in communities around the prison. "An active search remains in effect involving a number of law enforcement agencies from across the state," an ADC spokesperson said. May 28, 2025 -- The search for Hardin continues. From police chief to escaped murderer: Timeline of Arkansas manhunt for Grant Hardin originally appeared on
28-05-2025
From police chief to escaped murderer: Timeline of Arkansas manhunt for Grant Hardin
He's been described as a "sociopath," and "evil" by those who have encountered him, but now Grant Hardin, the former police chief of a small Arkansas town who was imprisoned for murder and rape, is the subject of a massive manhunt since escaping from a correctional facility this week. Hardin, 56, who was briefly police chief in the town of Gateway, near the Arkansas-Missouri border, simply walked out of a guarded gate at the North Central Unit in Calico Rock, Arkansas, on Sunday afternoon, according to a probable cause affidavit charging him with second-degree escape. Hardin was dressed as a law enforcement officer pushing a loading cart in surveillance video that captured him absconding from the prison. "Inmate Hardin impersonated a corrections officer in dress and manner, causing the corrections officer operating the gate to open the gate and allow inmate Hardin to walk away from the North Central Unit," according to the affidavit filed Tuesday in an Izard County court. As police continue to scour the Ozark Mountains for the fugitive, here is a timeline of the violent crimes that got him sentenced to 80 years in prison -- and the brazen escape that has prompted national headlines: Feb. 23, 2017 -- James Appleton, a 59-year-old water department worker for the city of Garfield, Arkansas, in Benton County, is shot in the head and killed by Hardin, prosecutors said. Appleton's body was moved to a car, where investigators found him. October 2017 -- Hardin pleads guilty to murder after the fatal shooting of Appleton. He is sentenced to 30 years in prison. The former police chief never revealed a motive for killing Appleton. Following Hardin's escape, former Benton County, Arkansas, prosecutor Nathan Smith, who helped put Hardin in prison, told ABC News' affiliate station KHBS in Fayetteville, Arkansas, that Hardin is a "sociopath." Smith added, "He's extremely dangerous. He's already proven that he has no moral core or center." Amid the ongoing search for Hardin, Appleton's sister, Cheryl Tilman, now the mayor of Gateway, describes Hardin in an interview with KHBS as "an evil man." Feb. 8, 2019 -- While serving his stentence for killing Appleton, Hardin pleads guilty to the 1997 rape of an elementary school teacher in her classroom in Rogers, Arkansas, authorities said. The Rogers Police Department linked Hardin to the rape by matching DNA found at the crime scene to a DNA sample Hardin submitted upon entering prison. He was sentenced to an additional 50 years. May 2023 -- HBO Max releases the real-crime documentary "Devil in the Ozarks" that detailed the rape of the Rogers school teacher and two-decade investigation to bring the perpetrator to justice. May 25, 2025 -- Arkansas Department of Corrections officials announce that Hardin escaped from the North Central Unit prison, while posing as a corrections officer. Surveillance video recorded Hardin at 2:50 p.m. local time pushing a loading cart and wearing what authorities initially described as the type of dark colored uniform worn by Arkansas Department of Corrections (ADC) officers. He was waved through the sally port from which he escaped by a Corrections officer. authorities said. ADC officials later said that Hardin was "wearing a makeshift outfit designed to mimic law enforcement." May 26, 2025 -- The U.S. Marshals Eastern Arkansas Fugitive Task Force announces it is assisting the Izard County Sheriff's Office in the search for Hardin, as officers from multiple law enforcement agencies searched the North Central Unit facility looking for the fugitive. Officers are seen by an ABC News crew stopping and searching vehicles and going door-to-door in communities around the prison. May 28, 2025 -- The search for Hardin continues.
Yahoo
26-03-2025
- Yahoo
Despairing family's plea for help as search continues for missing man
The family of a 30-year-old man who has been missing for more than two weeks are pleading for help finding him. Maurice Jackson has not been seen or heard from since the evening of Friday, Mar. 7, with his last known location the 25700 block of 141st Avenue North, close to a quarry and the Crow River just outside of Rogers, Minnesota. Extensive search efforts have been conducted by authorities in the area, including aerial and drone searches, the deployment of the water patrol, foot searches, and the use of search and rescue K-9s, there is still no sign of Jackson. A GoFundMe has been launched by Tammy Foley, one of Jackson's co-workers, on behalf of his mother, Benita, in the hope that the family can raise money to hire a private detective to assist in the search. "Experiencing every parent's worst nightmare, she is utterly distraught and not able to work or do anything other than search for answers," Foley says of Jackson's mother. As of Wednesday, the fundraising effort has raised more than $6,600. Benita Jackson has shared her family's torment on Facebook, writing: "Words cannot describe the agony of not knowing where are son is.:" "We will keep Hope alive and believe for the best. Please stand and believe with us, asking God to bring him home," she continued. She also praised the Rogers Police Department for its quick response in searching for her son, and asked the public to "please refrain from drawing conclusions on what happened to him." "My husband and I are determined to find our son and bring him home," she said. View the to see embedded media.
Yahoo
12-02-2025
- Yahoo
Third arrest made in connection to Rogers massage parlor raids
ROGERS, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) — A third arrest was made Feb. 11 in connection to the human trafficking raids on massage parlors in Rogers on Feb. 3. According to a press release, David Whited was arrested on a warrant for trafficking of persons and engaging in a continuing criminal gang, organization or enterprise. In fall 2024, the Rogers Police Department along with the Arkansas Attorney General's Office, Benton County Prosecutor's Office and the Benton County Sheriff's Office began a human trafficking investigation into three Asian massage parlors. The investigation ended on Jan. 23 with the execution of simultaneous search warrants for Ping Massage, Stream Massage and Tulip Massage. The release says the three massage parlors were owned and operated by the same three people. All three of those owners have now been arrested: Yuhe Yang, Chunli Wang, and Whited. Whited is being held in the Benton County jail. No bond has yet been set. Whited's arrest was part of a state-wide operation led by Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin's office. Griffin said the raids targeted massage parlors around the state as Operation Obscured Vision. He said 17 victims were identified with aid given to 16 of them after 12 search warrants were executed. Other raids were conducted in Jonesboro, Russellville, Hot Springs, Harrison, and Little Rock. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
06-02-2025
- Yahoo
Rogers police looking for possible gang members in breaking and entering cases
ROGERS, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) — Rogers police are looking for three possible members of what is known as a 'felony lane gang' who may be involved in multiple breaking and entering cases. According to the Rogers Police Department, 'felony lane gangs' are not typically from the area they target, and are sometimes from out of state. Police say they will usually throw out any items that can be easily traced like Airpods, laptops and phones and will use stolen IDs to cash stolen checks at banks in different cities. The police department says they tend to target locations such as gyms, parks and occasionally schools, mostly areas where people tend to leave their belongings in their vehicles. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
