Charge accusing man of Purple Heart falsification goes to grand jury

Staff report

WARREN

More than a dozen military veterans attended a hearing in Warren Municipal Court on Monday for Keith Chandler, 33, of Bushnell-Campbell Road in Kinsman Township and Willard Avenue, charged with falsifying discharge papers to receive Purple Heart license plates.

He waived a preliminary hearing, and his case was bound over to a Trumbull County grand jury. If convicted, he could get five years in prison.

“Skip” Cole, past commander of the Purple Heart, Chapter 606 in Warren, said veterans came to the hearing because of what Chandler is accused of doing.

“It’s difficult to get the medals you deserve. I’ve got friends who deserved a lot more than they got, and to alter discharge papers to get things they don’t deserve, it’s just not right,” Cole said.

Cole said the type of deception Chandler is accused of committing also can have a financial component: Purple Heart license plates are free, and sometimes veterans are eligible for promotions at their job because of their medals, he added.