Docs identify Arkansas DOC employees fired after Grant Hardin’s escape

CALICO ROCK, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) — New details reveal more information about the former staff members officials say are responsible for Grant Hardin’s escape from a prison in northern Arkansas.

Hardin, a convicted murderer and rapist and former police chief, escaped from the North Central Unit on May 25 and was captured on June 6 around a mile and a half away from the prison after multiple agencies, including the U.S. Border Patrol, joined the search. Court documents said he was let out by a guard and was wearing an “ADC-type” prison uniform.

The Arkansas Department of Corrections previously confirmed that two staff members at the North Central Unit were fired after Hardin’s escape. However, their names were not included.

Termination documents obtained by KNWA/FOX24 through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request include the names of those fired and the policies they violated.

Documents identified the two D.O.C. workers as Corporal William Walker and Justin Delvalle, a food preparation supervisor.

Walker had been with the North Central Unit since May 2021, and Delvalle started working there in August 2023. The two were fired on June 11 and following the department’s internal investigation.

Both were terminated for “violation of written policy,” according to the documents.

Walker’s termination notice said the following:

“On May 25, 2025, you observed an inmate unsupervised on the back dock and failed to alert your supervisor or maintain visual contact. You also admitted that later that same day, you observed an individual in what you believed to be a uniform — black in color, unlike the standard issue DOC blue uniform — pushing a silver cart. You opened both Sallyport gates, allowing the individual to exit without proper identification or authorization, and again failed to maintain visual surveillance.”

Delvalle’s termination notice said:

“An internal investigation revealed that on May 25, 2025, you failed to perform your assigned duties, resulting in serious security breaches that contributed to the escape of an inmate. During the investigation, you admitted to allowing the inmate to clean the chemical cage on the back dock of the kitchen unsupervised during your shift. Additionally, you admitted that it had been a common practice of yours to allow the inmate to access the back dock unsupervised on Sundays during your shifts. This was even after the Food Preparation Manager held a staff meeting explicitly prohibiting inmates from being on the back dock without supervision.”

Both documents say that the DOC “maintains a zero-tolerance policy for actions that compromise safety and security.

During a legislative hearing in Little Rock on July 10, corrections officials said that Hardin was allowed onto the prison kitchen’s back dock at 1:58 p.m. on the day of the escape. He fled nearly an hour later, at 2:53 p.m. His absence wasn’t noticed until 3:08 p.m., and the prison did not go on lockdown until 3:40 p.m.

Hardin had worked in the kitchen for several years before his escape.

Officials said Hardin crafted a fake badge out of a metal soup can lid, darkened his clothes with a marker, and used a kitchen apron to resemble a vest. He also built a makeshift ladder using wooden pallets from the back dock. 

Benny Magness, chairman of the Arkansas Board of Corrections, previously said the situation was a case of human error and complacency. 

“If either one of those [staff members] would’ve done their job… you can’t convince me it’s systematic from the rest of the staff,” Magness said.

Officials said in the legislative hearing that a “critical incident review” was taking place to determine further steps.