Former Cop Convicted For Lying About Receiving Purple Heart

CANTON, GA -- A former officer with the Holly Springs Police Department whose ex-wife was seriously injured in a parade held for veterans has been convicted of charges he lied about receiving a Purple Heart.

A Cherokee County jury on Tuesday convicted Shane Steven Ladner on five of six counts of making a false statement, said Shannon Wallace, district attorney for the Blue Ridge Judicial Circuit.

Ladner and his wife, Meg, were taking part in a 2012 parade in Texas when the float they were on was hit by a train, killing four people and injured 17.

According to the indictment, the making false statement charge stems from Ladner in May 2013 telling Cherokee Sheriff’s Office detectives that he “was wounded by shrapnel from a grenade explosion in Central America when his unit came under hostile fire while he was on active duty in the United States Army and that he received a Purple Heart Citation due to the injuries he suffered in Central America.”

Ladner was arrested in June 2013 following a six-week investigation done at the request of Wallace, which revealed that Ladner did not receive a Purple Heart, the Cherokee Sheriff’s Office said at the time.

The United States Army had no record of the 2004 dd214 that Ladner allegedly presented to obtain his Purple Heart Georgia license plate, Cherokee Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Lt. Jay Baker told Patch at the time of Ladner’s arrest.

Ladner was chosen to take part in the Hunt for Heroes event, an all-expenses paid trip organized by Show Of Support that consists of a whitetail deer hunt, an honorary banquet and the parade recognizing the wounded warriors for their service to the country.

As a result of the accident, Meg Ladner lost her left leg. The accident propelled friends and the community to organize fundraising efforts to help the couple pay for medical expenses. The allegations also prompted the Holly Springs Police Department to terminate Ladner’s employment with the agency.

Return to Patch for updates.

Image via Cherokee Sheriff's Office