Former police officer sentenced
By Bonnie Edwards
Published in News on July 16, 2004 1:57 PM
KENANSVILLE -- District Attorney Dewey Hudson announced Thursday that a former Kenansaville police office has been sentenced for making a false report.
Joshua Lanier was also sentenced for injury to personal property and failure to discharge the duties of his office.
He entered a guilty plea after two days of trial before Judge Rodney Goodman, who gave him a 45-day sentence at the expiration of another 45-day sentence, all of which was suspended for three years of probation.
The judge ordered Lanier to pay a $500 fine, $100 in court costs and $4,680 in restitution.
Lanier must also receive a psychiatric evaluation and follow any recommended treatment associated with the assessment, surrender all law enforcement certificates and not apply or seek any law enforcement jobs without petitioning the court before applying.
The charges resulted from an incident that occurred on Dec. 1 in which Lanier allegedly was injured while on patrol in Kenansville.
He told investigators he was chasing a black man on foot.
Officers from the police department, the Duplin County Sheriff's Office and the Highway Patrol responded. Upon arriving at the scene, the officers secured the area and radioed that Lanier was down and had been shot.
Officers from neighboring towns and counties assisted in the investigation, and the State Bureau of Investigat-ion was called in to help.
The investigation revealed that the report was false and that, before coming on duty, Lanier fired a .380 into the protective vest and shirt while it was on the ground.
Bullet holes in the officers uniform did not match the ballistic test performed of the officer's protective vest.