An Arkansas man convicted of raping his 14-year-old stepdaughter — who reportedly escaped his prison sentence a year ago with the help of his family, pickup truck, and jet skis — was finally arrested after a manhunt.
Samuel Hartman, 39, was on prison work detail on Aug. 12. Suddenly, a pickup truck showed up near the East Arkansas Regional Unit prison work detail. Two women reportedly exited the truck and fired gunshots toward the prison guards, according to the Arkansas Department of Corrections.
Hartman – sentenced to life in prison in 2013 for a rape conviction out of Franklin County – reportedly jumped into the pickup truck, and the three suspects drove off. Correctional officers pursued the suspects until they allegedly reached the Mississippi River – where the suspects purportedly had two pre-staged jet skis ready to escape, according to the U.S. Marshals Service.
“Law enforcement officers in Mississippi and Arkansas later located the two abandoned jet skis on the Mississippi side of the river,” KCRA-TV reported.
Investigators later determined that Hartman’s mother – 61-year-old Linda Annette White – had ties to West Virginia. White’s 52-year-old boyfriend – Rodney Trent – is reportedly from West Virginia.
Arkansas authorities teamed up with U.S. Marshals, West Virginia State Police, Lewisburg Police Department, and the Greenbrier County Sheriff’s Office.
On Tuesday, Hartman – previously charged with multiple offenses, from possession or manufacturing of contraband items to battery to sexual activity – was arrested along with his 39-year-old wife, Misty Hartman; his mother; and his mother’s boyfriend in West Virginia.
Trent is facing charges for allegedly harboring a sex offender and helping the three fugitives evade authorities, according to the Marshals Service. Authorities did not indicate what charges Misty Hartman and White might face.
A spokesperson with the Arkansas Department of Corrections said the suspects are expected to be extradited to Arkansas as soon as possible.
Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders (R) said the arrests were “the culmination of a year of outstanding, dedicated work by our heroic law enforcement officers.”
“Now that they have brought this dangerous fugitive to justice, all Arkansans can sleep safer at night,” she added in her statement released on Tuesday.
“In my nearly 30 years of law enforcement, I cannot recall a task force that has the level of dedication to accomplishing the mission and making our communities safer than that of CUFFED (Cops United Felony Fugitive Enforcement Division Task Force),” said Michael Baylous, U.S. Marshal for the Southern District of West Virginia. “The apprehension of these dangerous fugitives demonstrates the close and outstanding relationship that CUFFED enjoys with our local and state partners, other USMS Districts, and the USMS Domestic Investigations Branch.”
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Samuel Hartman arrested in West Virgina after escaping Arkansas prison | Morning in Americawww.youtube.com