Izard County, AR — (JonesboroRightNow.com) — June 17, 2025 — Grant Hardin, a convicted murder and rapist, and who is accused of escaping a Northeast Arkansas prison in May, pleaded not guilty to a felony escape charge on Tuesday.
According to court records, Hardin appeared via Zoom. He waived a formal arraignment and pleaded not guilty. Attorney Thomas Kendrick from the public defender’s office was appointed to represent Hardin.
Pre-trial has been set for Oct. 21 at 9:30 a.m. The matter will go to a jury trial Nov. 5-7.
Hardin has been charged with one count of second degree escape after Arkansas Department of Corrections officials said he escaped on May 25 by impersonating a law enforcement officer in a makeshift uniform. Hardin was captured on June 6 and transferred to Varner SuperMax in Gould, AR.
Previously, Hardin had been serving a lengthy sentence in the North Central Unit in Calico Rock, AR, for murder and rape. He was also the former police chief of Gateway, AR, for a brief period before his conviction in 2017.