Suspected thief hides, pulls out weapon when officers arrive

By DUANE SHERRILL / Staff Reporter for the Southern Standard

Deputy Bo Ramsey prepares to take up a position during an armed standoff Wednesday afternoon along the railroad tracks off Shady Rest Road. (Duane Sherrill photo)

A burglary suspect held lawmen on a six-hour armed standoff on the railroad tracks off Shady Rest Road Wednesday.

The armed suspect, Anthony Darrell Lafevers, 28, was taken down by lawmen just before midnight when officers were able to hit him with a tazer. Lafevers had been talked into putting down his .22-caliber handgun moments before. However, he was still holding a knife when he was stunned.

The standoff began around 6 p.m. after Spencer police officers tracked Lafevers to the location following a burglary in Van Buren County. Unable to find Lafevers at his nearby residence, Spencer and Warren County officers began walking the railroad tracks behind his house. Officers found the items that had been taken in the burglary at a nearby location.

As they continued checking the tracks, deputy Kevin Murphy happened upon the suspect, who rose from his hiding place, brandishing a handgun. Officers then took cover and the standoff began with Lafevers holding the gun to his own head for much of the time, threatening to kill himself.

“He said he didn’t want to go back to prison,” said Sheriff Jackie Matheny who was among several officers involved in the six-hour siege. “It got a little tense when the sun went down because that changed things. He didn’t try to run, and that’s good, because that would have caused a more dangerous situation. We were able to keep the area lit by bringing a four-wheel-drive down to the tracks and using its spotlight.”

The local tactical team was called in and set up a post at the VFW. However, the team was not forced into action as hostage negotiators Todd Rowland and Tommy Myers talked Lafevers into dropping his gun. Once the gun was dropped and Lafevers was holding only the knife on himself, officers were able to get close enough to fire the tazer gun which injects a charge of electricity and temporarily stuns a suspect.

“The officers did a good job, and our negotiators kept going for six hours talking to the guy,” Matheny said. “We’re glad we were able to resolve this without anyone getting hurt.”