Hardin back in court
BENTONVILLE — A convicted killer facing charges in a 20-year-old rape case claims he wanted to rescind his murder plea shortly after he was sentenced to 30 years in prison.
He pleaded not guilty Monday, April 2, to the 1997 rape of a Rogers school teacher during his arraingment before Circuit Judge Robin Green.
Grant Hardin, 49, is charged with three
counts of rape, sexual abuse and kidnapping.
Hardin’s arrest came after DNA linked him to the case that’s more than two decades old. The state obtained Hardin’s DNA after he pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in October.
The sample matched DNA from the rape case, according to Rogers Police Chief Hayes Minor.
The teacher was at the school on Sunday, Nov. 9, 1997, preparing for the week’s classes while a church service was being held in the cafeteria.
About 11:30 a.m. the teacher decided to use the restroom. A man wearing a knit stocking cap and sunglasses brandished a pistol, raped her and fled, according to a news release.
A pretrial hearing is scheduled for 8 a.m. May 21.
Benton County Prosecutor Nathan Smith said he has six banker boxes of material to turn over to Hardin’s attorneys.
Rogers police obtained a warrant in 2003 for a “John Doe” suspect in the case. A John Doe warrant is an arrest warrant for an individual whose name isn’t known. The statute of limitations for rape in Arkansas is six years, and the warrant was filed before time expired.
Hardin mailed a handwritten Rule 37 petition to the Benton County Circuit Clerk’s Office, claiming he received ineffective legal assistance with his murder case.
He admitted Oct. 16, 2017, to shooting and killing James Appleton, 59, while he sat in his pickup on Feb. 23, 2017, on Gann Ridge Road.
Hardin was police chief in Gateway from January to May 2016. Appleton was a city employee for Gateway and the brother of two Gateway City Council members.
Hardin didn’t give a motive for killing Appleton, but told Judge Green he had not been forced by anyone into pleading guilty.
Hardin claims in his petition he told Shane Wilkinson, his attorney, from the day of the plea through Oct. 19 he wanted to withdraw his plea. He states Wilkinson told him there are no allowances by law to withdraw the plea.
Jail staff wouldn’t allow him to use the law library to verify Wilkinson’s statements and he was delayed in filing the motion because he didn’t have access to the law library while in jail and when he was first taken to prison, Hardin claims in his motion.
Wilkinson said, “I’ve been doing this a long time and there’s a very good reason no one has ever filed a rule 37 against me.”
Benton County Prosecutor Nathan Smith said it’s unlikely Hardin will be successful with the motion.
Hardin is being held in the Benton County Jail.