CHEROKEE COUNTY, Ga. — A former officer who lied about being awarded a Purple Heart may not spend any time in jail.
A judge sentenced Shane Ladner to 10 years’ probation and a total of 600 hours of community service.
A jury found Ladner guilty on six of the seven counts he faced, deciding he lied at the county tax commissioner's office when he obtained a Purple Heart license plate and to sheriff's detectives who investigated his claim that he had been awarded the medal.
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Ladner said he was wounded at the age of 19 in Central America and that he woke up in the hospital with a Purple Heart pinned to his pillow, but prosecutors called some of Ladner's former superior officers to the witness stand who testified it never happened.
His wife, Meg Ladner, lost a leg during a wounded veterans parade in Texas a few years back and it was shortly after that when questions surfaced about her husband's Purple Heart.
Ladner also has to pay the state back $6,082.92 in restitution.