LEE COUNTY, Ark. – Last Friday an inmate escaped custody from the Eastern Arkansas Regional Unit at Brickeys, Ark. The Arkansas Dept of Corrections are working with the U.S. Marshals Service, Arkansas State Police and countless other agencies in the search.
Samuel Hartman, 38, fled from his field maintenance crew assignment on Arkansas Highway 79. Hartman and a suspected accomplice fired on correctional officers who were giving chase. He is considered armed and dangerous.
New information now revealed he could have ties to NE Oklahoma. There are two persons of interest being sought. His sister and mother, Misty Hartman and Linda White are thought to have assisted his escape. Neither woman has been located.
Hartman is serving a life sentence for rape out of Franklin County and has been in Arkansas Division of Correction custody since December 2013. Court papers reveal his victim was his step-daughter who was under 14 at the time.
EASTERN ARK REGIONAL UNIT IS ABOUT 10 MILES FROM THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER
ADOC now list a vehicle, “Be on the lookout for a white 2021 Chevy Trailboss, 4 doors with black rims that may be bearing Arkansas license plate number 398 ZVY or none at all. This vehicle connected to the escape of East Arkansas Regional Unit inmate Samuel Hartman. Hartman is armed and dangerous.”
Hartman is 5’9″, 230 lbs, he may or may not have a beard.
In the initial escape authorities reveal he and an accomplice abandoned a getaway vehicle. Then crossed the Mississippi River on Jet Skis. The first few days of searching focused on the Tunica, Miss. area.
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