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A former police chief who was convicted of rape and murder escaped from the prison where he was serving a 30-year sentence on Sunday, correction officials said.

Grant Hardin had been at North Central Unit, a prison located in Calico Rock, Arkansas, since 2017. He escaped around 3:40 p.m., the Arkansas Department of Corrections said in a social media post.

“Anyone with information about inmate Hardin’s whereabouts should contact local law enforcement immediately,” the post read.

Later, the department said in a social media post that, “It has been determined that Hardin was wearing a makeshift outfit designed to mimic law enforcement when he escaped the North Central Unit. He was not wearing a Department of Corrections uniform, and all DOC-issued equipment has been accounted for.”

According to CBS affiliate KFSM-TV, the Stone County Sheriff’s Office said Hardin was seen leaving the prison in an Arkansas Department of Corrections uniform.

Hardin was the former police chief for the city of Gateway, Arkansas, a small town with just a few hundred residents.

Hardin pleaded guilty in October 2017 to first-degree murder in connection with the shooting death of 59-year-old James Appleton. According to an affidavit filed in the case, Appleton worked for the Gateway water department and was talking to his brother-in-law, then-Gateway Mayor Andrew Tillman, when he was shot in the head on Feb. 23, 2017, near Garfield. Police found Appleton’s body inside a car.

Hardin is also serving 50 years in prison for the 1997 rape of an elementary school teacher in Rogers, north of Fayetteville.

CBS Fort Smith, Ark. affiliate KFSM reported in 2019 that police in 2003 used DNA samples from the rape victim’s clothes to apply for a “John Doe” warrant since the statute of limitations was close to expiring. Investigators eventually got a match after Hardin was imprisoned for Appleton’s killing.

Hardin pleaded guilty to two counts of rape and was given 25 years for each count, KFSM reported.

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Police have issued arrest warrants for Jalen Carter, the former football star at the University of Georgia and top NFL prospect who is now being charged for his alleged involvement in a fatal car crash that left two people dead in January.

Carter, 21, faces charges for reckless driving and racing, the Athens-Clarke County Police Department announced on Wednesday. He is accused in connection with an accident, initially characterized as a single-vehicle crash near the university campus on Jan. 15, which killed fellow Georgia football player Devin Willock and team staff member Chandler LeCroy.

LeCroy, a 24-year-old recruiting analyst for the Bulldogs football team and graduate from the University of Georgia, was operating the car when it “left the roadway, striking two power poles and several trees” at around 2:45 a.m., police said in a statement issued directly after the wreck. Willock, an 20-year-old offensive lineman for the Bulldogs, was inside the vehicle and pronounced dead at the scene. LeCroy was transferred to a nearby hospital where she later died from her injuries, according to police.

A subsequent investigation found that LeCroy, driving a 2021 Ford Expedition, and Carter, driving a 2021 Jeep Trackhawk, “were operating their vehicles in a manner consistent with racing” leading up to the deadly crash, police said on Wednesday. Both vehicles had left the downtown Athens area at around 2:30 a.m. that morning, and proceeded to switch between lanes, drive in the center turn lane and drive “in opposite lanes of travel” while overtaking other motorists while driving at high speeds, “in an apparent attempt to outdistance each other.”

Carter acknowledged the warrants in a statement shared on Twitter Wednesday afternoon.

“There is no question in my mind that when all of the facts are known that I will be fully exonerated of any criminal wrongdoing,” Carter wrote. The statement also claimed that some reports about the January crash and charges against him are inaccurate.

“Numerous media reports also have circulated this morning containing inaccurate information concerning the tragic events of January 15, 2023,” he said in the statement. “It is my intention to return to Athens to answer the misdemeanor charges against me and to make certain that the complete and accurate truth is presented.”

In their announcement Wednesday, Athens-Clarke County police said that evidence suggested LeCroy’s car was traveling at about 104 miles per hour before the crash, and noted that her blood alcohol concentration was 0.197 when the accident occurred. 

“Investigators determined that alcohol impairment, racing, reckless driving, and speed were significant contributing factors to the crash,” police said.

Carter left the scene of the crash before returning, about an hour later, to provide statements to police, CBS Sports reported. Additional interviews reviewed by the Atlanta-Journal Constitution reportedly showed Carter misleading prosecutors as to his whereabouts at the time of the accident, first saying he was a mile away when it happened and later acknowledging that he was there, according to the newspaper. 

Kirby Smart, the head football coach at the University of Georgia, responded to the arrest warrants in a statement released on Wednesday morning.

“The charges announced today are deeply concerning, especially as we are still struggling to cope with the devastating loss of two beloved members of our community,” Smart said. “We will continue to cooperate fully with the authorities while supporting these families and assessing what we can learn from this horrible tragedy.”

Carter is widely considered one of the top prospects in the 2023 NFL Draft, with plenty forecasting him as a top-five pick, according to CBS Sports.  He earned unanimous All-American honors after a standout junior season at Georgia. Carter posted seven tackles for loss and three sacks from the defensive tackle position, standing as a catalyst behind Georgia’s historic 15-0 campaign. 

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LOS ANGELES — Former goalkeeper Hope Solo objected to the equal pay lawsuit between her former teammates and the U.S. Soccer Federation, filing a notice in federal court.

Solo sued the USSF in August 2018 alleging violations of the federal Equal Pay Act and sex status discrimination.

While Solo’s case hasn’t progressed to trial, players led by Alex Morgan filed suit against the USSF the following year under the Equal Pay Act and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. Those players and the USSF reached a proposed $24 million settlement this spring, and U.S. District Judge R. Gary Klausner in Los Angeles has scheduled a Dec. 5 hearing for final approval.

As part of the settlement, the USSF signed collective bargaining agreements with the unions for the women’s and men’s national teams calling for equal pay.

Solo filed a notice of objection Tuesday and said she intends to attend the hearing either in person or through or her lawyer.

“It’s unfair to ask players to accept as ‘fair, adequate and reasonable’ a settlement in which the only thing that is described and explained with certainty is how much the lawyers will be paid,” Solo said in a statement issued by her lawyer, A.J. de Bartolomeo.

Solo cited $7.9 million of the $22 million settlement fund as going to lawyers.

“Without knowing how much each player – including me for our Title VII claims – will be paid, or when we will get paid, it’s impossible for players to determine whether or not the proposed settlement and whatever payment we each receive is fair, adequate or reasonable,” she said.

The USSF had no immediate comment, spokesman Neil Buethe said.

“This historic resolution has been recognized as one of the greatest victories for equal pay,” Molly Levinson, a spokeswoman for the group of suing players, said in a statement. “We look forward to the court’s final approval hearing.” 

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