OKALOOSA COUNTY, Fla. — A man has been sentenced to 30 years in state prison following his conviction for attempted second-degree murder in connection with a 2022 shooting in Fort Walton Beach, according to the Office of State Attorney Ginger Bowden Madden.
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Michael Alan Ladson was sentenced on October 16, 2025, by Circuit Judge William Stone after an Okaloosa County jury convicted him on July 30, 2025, of attempted second-degree murder.
The jury also found that he was in actual possession of a firearm, discharged the firearm, and that the discharge caused great bodily harm.
According to trial evidence, in the early morning hours of March 26, 2022, at Coasters in Fort Walton Beach, Charles Meeks and his friends had interactions with Mr Ladson outside that resulted in verbal disputes. The security guard told Ladson to leave the property and not return for the night.
Approximately an hour later, Mr Ladson is said to have re-entered Coasters, pulled a firearm, and fired a single shot that struck Mr Meeks in the upper chest. The security guard reportedly detained Ladson until officers with the Fort Walton Beach Police Department arrived.
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The Fort Walton Beach Police Department investigated the case. Assistant State Attorney A.J. Gomez prosecuted the case on behalf of State Attorney Ginger Bowden Madden of the First Judicial Circuit of Florida. Mr Ladson’s sentence includes a 25-year mandatory minimum term.
