Ark. inmate escaped to visit grandma

Thursday, July 24, 2008 The Associated Press TEXARKANA, Ark. — A man who escaped the Miller County Jail and was arrested nearly two weeks later in Fayetteville, Ark., said he broke out to go visit his grandmother. Bennie Johnson said his grandmother, who raised him, was recovering from a heart attack in Fort Smith, the Texarkana Gazette reported Wednesday. He said he visited her daily in the hospital while on the lam. "My grandmother's worth everything in the whole world," Johnson said. He now faces felony escape charges. Tuesdy, he pleaded guilty to battery, the charge that originally landed him in jail, and was sentenced to six years in... [read full story]