Donald Eugene Harding: Crimes and Victims
Background
Donald Eugene Harding was an American murderer, armed robber, kidnapper, and prison escapee whose violent crime spree crossed several states during the final months of 1979 and January 1980. Harding was born on March 1, 1949, in Arkansas. His criminal history began when he was still a juvenile and eventually developed into repeated burglaries, robberies, escapes, kidnappings, car thefts, assaults, and murders. Authorities ultimately connected or suspected him in a remarkably large number of violent offenses committed while he traveled through the United States using stolen vehicles, stolen identification, and false names.
Harding escaped from the Pulaski County Jail in Arkansas on September 17, 1979, along with several other prisoners. After the escape, he traveled from state to state while committing robberies and taking vehicles from his victims. He frequently restrained people during these crimes. In several of the killings attributed to him, victims were tied or otherwise immobilized and then either shot or left unable to breathe because of gags. Harding was eventually convicted of three murders in Arizona, while investigators also considered him responsible for additional killings in Texas and California.
The Multi-State Crime Spree
During late 1979 and early 1980, Harding survived largely through robbery and theft. He approached strangers, entered motel rooms or other private locations, restrained victims, and stole money, identification documents, credit cards, luggage, and automobiles. Stolen identification was especially useful to him because it allowed him to move from place to place under false names. One identity he used belonged to Ronald Gene Svetgoff, a robbery victim whose identification and automobile Harding had stolen in December 1979.
Harding's violence was not limited to people he intended to kill. Numerous victims survived being held at gunpoint, tied up, robbed, or forced to surrender their vehicles. His surviving victims and the property taken from them later helped investigators reconstruct his movements. The pattern also connected crimes committed hundreds of miles apart. By January 1980, law enforcement agencies in several states were attempting to locate him.
Known and Attributed Murder Victims
- Stanton Winston Blanton, age 27 — December 10, 1979 — Dallas, Texas. Blanton was killed in his Dallas apartment during a robbery attributed to Harding. Harding was not ultimately tried for this Texas homicide, but investigators connected the killing to his crime spree. Blanton's death date has been reported as December 10, 1979.
- Charles Dickerson, age 35 — January 3, 1980 — South Lake Tahoe, California. Dickerson was attacked in a motel room in South Lake Tahoe. He was restrained and gagged during the robbery and was later discovered dead. The gag obstructed his breathing, causing fatal asphyxiation. His verified death date was January 3, 1980. Harding was linked to the crime but was not convicted of Dickerson's murder.
- Gerald Owen Huth, age 39 — January 10, 1980 — near Paso Robles, California. Huth, a Minnesota businessman, encountered Harding along U.S. Highway 101 near Paso Robles after Harding experienced trouble with a stolen vehicle. Huth apparently stopped to assist him. Harding killed Huth with a gunshot and took his automobile. Huth's body was later discovered near Paso Robles with his hands restrained. Harding subsequently used property and identification belonging to Huth. Huth's death date was January 10, 1980.
- Allan Gage, age 38 — January 25, 1980 — Mission Motel, East Van Buren Street, Phoenix, Arizona. Gage checked into the Mission Motel between approximately 1:00 and 1:30 a.m. on January 25. Later that morning, the motel manager discovered his body. His wrists and ankles had been taped, and his ankles had been secured to his hands behind his back. A washcloth had been forced into his mouth, tape had been placed over it, and strips of a pillowcase had been wrapped around his face. The medical examiner determined that the gag prevented him from breathing and that he died slowly from asphyxiation. His wallets and automobile were stolen. Harding was convicted of first-degree murder for Gage's death and received a death sentence.
- Robert A. Wise, age 35 — January 25, 1980 — Tucson, Arizona. Wise was a district supervisor for KAR Car Products Incorporated. He had traveled from Mesa to Tucson to work with company sales representative Martin L. Concannon. The two men returned to Wise's motel room during the late afternoon of January 25. Harding entered the room and restrained both men. Wise was tied with his hands behind his back and his ankles secured to the restraints on his hands. A restraint was also placed around his neck and attached to a bedpost. Harding struck Wise with a wooden motel lamp with enough force to break teeth and fracture his jaw. Wise was also shot at extremely close range in the chest and left temple with a .25-caliber pistol. The chest bullet damaged his spinal cord and caused his death. Harding was convicted of Wise's first-degree murder.
- Martin L. Concannon, age 33 — January 25, 1980 — Tucson, Arizona. Concannon was a sales representative working with Robert Wise when the two men were attacked in Wise's motel room. Concannon was restrained and shot at close range in the chest and near the temple. The chest wound damaged his spinal cord, but medical evidence indicated that he remained alive for a period after being shot. Investigators found marks consistent with restraints around his neck and injuries to his hands that were described as defensive wounds. Dress socks had been forced deep into his mouth and throat, blocking his airway. His body was found in the bathroom area of the motel room the following morning. Harding was convicted of Concannon's first-degree murder.
The Phoenix Murder of Allan Gage
The killing of Allan Gage provided investigators with particularly strong physical evidence against Harding. After restraining Gage inside the Phoenix motel room, Harding stole his wallets and car. When Harding was arrested the following day, police found Gage's wallet and identification among property in the vehicle Harding was driving. Gage's stolen automobile was subsequently located in a Tucson hotel parking lot.
The manner in which Gage had been restrained resembled conduct seen in other crimes attributed to Harding. Rather than simply taking property and escaping, Harding rendered his victim almost completely helpless. The medical testimony established that Gage's gag had been positioned so deeply that he could not obtain enough air even through his nose. Harding was separately prosecuted in Maricopa County for this murder and was convicted of first-degree murder, robbery, and theft.
The Tucson Double Murder
The murders of Robert Wise and Martin Concannon became the crimes most closely associated with Harding. Wise arrived in Tucson on January 24, 1980, to meet Concannon. After conducting business the following day, the men returned to Wise's motel room. Harding encountered them there and subjected them to an extended attack involving restraint, robbery, beating, and gunfire.
Wise suffered especially severe injuries. In addition to being shot at close range, he was beaten with a wooden motel lamp. Pieces of the lamp were recovered from injuries around his head and mouth. His hands and ankles were bound, and he was tethered to the bed. Concannon was also restrained and shot. Although his gunshot injuries were grave, evidence showed that he did not immediately die from them. The socks forced into his throat obstructed his airway while he was still alive.
After the killings, Harding took Wise's briefcase and credit cards and left in the automobile Concannon had been using. His behavior became even more disturbing later that evening. At approximately 8:40 p.m. on January 25, Harding appeared at the Mesa home of Robert Wise carrying one of Wise's business cards. He falsely represented himself as someone who knew Wise and asked whether "Bob" Wise was home. Wise's wife told him that her husband had not yet returned. Harding left the residence without attacking her.
Arrest
Harding's capture occurred on January 26, 1980, in Flagstaff, Arizona. He drove the Oldsmobile connected with the Tucson victims into a restricted parking area at Northern Arizona University. A campus police officer approached him and became suspicious. The vehicle carried Ohio license plates, while Harding spoke with a noticeable Southern accent, and other aspects of his appearance and behavior attracted the officer's attention.
The officer recorded the license number and requested a check through police communications. The vehicle came back as stolen and potentially connected with the Tucson homicides. Officers stopped Harding and arrested him. During the search, police recovered a .25-caliber pistol as well as identification documents and badges bearing titles such as "Security Guard" and "Special Officer." Harding initially claimed to be Ronald Gene Svetgoff, whose identification he had previously stolen.
The arrest brought an end to a crime spree involving numerous robberies, kidnappings, assaults, stolen cars, and killings. Investigators examining Harding's movements connected him with crimes committed across a large portion of the country and regarded him as a suspect in considerably more violence than the three murders for which Arizona ultimately obtained convictions.
Trials and Death Sentences
Harding was tried for the murders of Wise and Concannon in 1982. He insisted on representing himself for much of the proceeding, although advisory counsel was available. The evidence included stolen property, the automobile he had been driving, the weapon recovered during his arrest, testimony about his movements, and evidence concerning the condition in which the victims had been found. On April 27, 1982, Harding was convicted of two counts of first-degree murder, along with robbery, kidnapping, and theft offenses connected with the Tucson attack.
He received death sentences for the murders of Wise and Concannon. Harding was later separately convicted of the murder of Allan Gage in Phoenix and received another death sentence. His convictions and sentences were reviewed through extensive state and federal appeals, but the principal murder convictions remained in place.
Execution
Donald Eugene Harding was executed at the Arizona State Prison in Florence shortly after midnight on April 6, 1992. He was 43 years old. Arizona used its gas chamber, making Harding the first prisoner executed by the state in approximately 29 years. His execution became controversial because witnesses reported that death was prolonged after the cyanide gas was released. He was pronounced dead roughly ten and a half minutes after the execution process began.
Harding's case remains notable both for the brutality of the Arizona murders and for the scale of the crime spree surrounding them. Although he received murder convictions for Allan Gage, Robert Wise, and Martin Concannon, authorities also attributed the deaths of Stanton Blanton, Charles Dickerson, and Gerald Huth to him. The combination of interstate robbery, kidnapping, stolen identities, car theft, restraint of victims, and repeated killings made Harding one of the more dangerous fugitives operating in the United States during the brief period between his 1979 escape and his January 1980 arrest.
