He Was the Former Chief of Police, Then He Pulled the Trigger On a Man’s Head and Sped Away
The tragic case of James Appleton
Published in
4 min readFeb 25, 2023
In early 2017, a booming gunshot led to the discovery of a man dead in his Gateway work truck.
Luckily, the murder played out in the eyes of a witness.
Police officer: Did you physically see him inside the car?
Witness: Yes.
Police officer: Who was it?
Witness: His name is Grant Hardin. I just know that he works for Gateway as a policeman.
The Happenings on February 23rd
On February 23rd, 2017, James pulled over his truck on the side of the road.
He sat in his truck as he talked to his brother-in-law on the phone.
A car soon approached James’ truck. The driver of the car pulled out a gun. He pulled the trigger, and bang!
The driver then sped away, leaving James shot fatally in the face.
James Lee Appleton was a kind, intelligent, and caring fifty-nine-year-old soul. He…
