Veteran accused of destroying Biloxi graves, coming back to steal VA property
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Federal charges accuse veteran of damaging graves and VA property in Biloxi.
- Security footage links suspect to theft of items from VA site in February 2024.
- Court delayed court action while suspect undergoes substance abuse treatment.
A Mississippi veteran facing federal charges said he blacked out when he drove through the middle of the Biloxi National Cemetery on Dec. 3, 2023, and destroyed nine grave markers and other property.
George L. Gardner is facing charges of willful destruction and theft of government property in two separate incidents at the VA property.
According to court papers, in February 2024, an employee of GC Logistics reported that Gardner was caught on camera footage removing three unidentified items from a container on the VA property, then placing them in the back of his green Chevrolet Silverado, and driving off.
Gardner was driving the same truck when he destroyed the headstones at the VA property three months earlier, the records say.
At the time of the incident, cemetery director Alfred Maxwell said the pickup truck plowed through sections of the national cemetery the afternoon of Dec. 3, 2023, damaging the headstones, a bench, a flagpole, and some road signs. No one was hurt in the incident.
Gardner was set to enter a plea and face sentencing Monday, but his attorney, Craig Rose, asked for a delay because Gardner is undergoing treatment at a drug and alcohol rehabilitation center.
Gardner is set to go before a judge in federal court in Gulfport in November.
This story was originally published September 23, 2025 at 8:30 AM.
