Arkansas State Police arrested Boone County Judge Robert Daniel Hathaway on Friday on charges stemming from a public corruption investigation.
Hathaway, 68, faces one felony count of Abuse of Office and one misdemeanor count of Reporting by Public Employee for Loss of Public Funds. He was booked into the Marion County Detention Center.
The arrest follows an investigation that began in August 2025 when Fourteenth Judicial District Prosecuting Attorney David Ethredge requested Arkansas State Police Criminal Investigation Division to investigate allegations of stolen funds from Boone County government accounts.
At the request of state police, Ethredge arranged for the Arkansas Legislative Audit to conduct a financial review of Boone County accounts in September 2025.
According to Arkansas State Police, the audit determined that a Boone County employee had stolen funds from multiple government accounts and related entities. Investigators found that Hathaway was aware of the misuse of a government county card, which exceeded $1,000 within a calendar year, but failed to report the loss to the Arkansas Legislative Audit as required by state law.
Hathaway’s arrest is the latest in a series of arrests related to the Boone County public corruption case. On February 18, April Dawn Benefiel, 44, former program director for Grandma’s House Children’s Advocacy Center in Harrison, was arrested on charges of Tampering with Physical Evidence and Hindering Prosecution.
Daniel Bolen, 46, former director of Boone County Office of Emergency Management, was arrested by state police on February 13 on charges including Abuse of Office, Theft of $25,000 or More, Tampering with Physical Evidence and Fraudulent Use of a Credit Card.
