Former Benton County prosecutor discusses former police chief Grant Hardin's prison escape
BENTON COUNTY, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) — A former Benton County prosecutor discussed the prison escape of a former Gateway police chief he prosecuted in two cases.
Grant Hardin, 56, convicted of rape and murder, escaped from a corrections center in north Arkansas on Sunday afternoon.
Hardin is serving multiple decades for a 2017 conviction of first degree-murder and 2019 conviction of rape.
He escaped from the North Central Unit in Calico Rock in Izard County around 3:45 p.m. on Sunday through the sally port wearing an ADC-type uniform, according to the Stone County Sheriff's Office.
Nathan Smith was a prosecuting attorney for Benton County from 2015 to 2023 and prosecuted both cases against Hardin.
Smith, who was the prosecutor in both cases against Hardin, spoke with KNWA/FOX24 on Monday about Hardin's escape.
He said his first reaction to Hardin's escape was shock.
"I hate it for the victims and their families to have to relive that with the lack of knowledge of what's going on," Smith said.
Smith said what stood out with Hardin's cases was that there was never a good motive in terms of how he selected the victims, and what he was thinking.
Also, the fact that Hardin had a background in law enforcement, serving as a police officer, police chief, county constable and corrections officer in Gateway for several years before being arrested, made the case more notable.
In addition to serving multiple years in Gateway, Hardin also spent time as a police officer in Eureka Springs and a correctional officer in Fayetteville.
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