Standoff ends tragically

MUDFORK – A stand-off that lasted several hours ended with the death of a county man October 17.
Major Chris Boyd of the Tazewell County Sheriff’s office said 911 received a call around 7:24PM, and deputies responded to 4639 Mudfork Road. The caller reported that her estranged boyfriend, Larry Asbury, age 48 of Tazewell, was at her home and was threatening to kill himself.
He had armed himself with a shotgun and went into the basement of the home. The caller left her home with her children, unharmed, prior to the Deputy’s arrival.
Upon our Deputies arrival they attempted to communicate with Asbury, who at that time was threatening to kill them. A shot was fired from the residence and the Deputies retreated to safe cover. The Deputies continued to try to talk him out of the house and another shot was fired at the Deputies. The Tazewell Police Department’s Emergency Response Team and the Virginia State Police Tactical Team and Negotiators responded to the location and a stand-off ensued for several hours.
Negotiators with the Virginia State Police repeatedly tried to talk Asbury out of the home, yet he fired another shot from the residence. The State Police implemented the use of “tear gas” in an attempt to get Asbury to come out of the house. After several deployments of the “tear gas”, and after no response from him, the Virginia State Police Tactical Team entered the residence where they discovered that Asbury had taken his own life.
Asbury’s body will be sent to the State Medical Examiner’s Office in Roanoke, Virginia.
“This is a very unfortunate event and it is not the type of situation that any law enforcement officer wants to respond to. We want to resolve these situations peacefully without anyone getting hurt” Boyd said.
The Abbs Valley Fire Department, Rescue 945, Tazewell County Fire-Rescue, and Baptist Valley Fire Department all responded to nearby locations to assist.