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Alleghany County man could serve 9 life sentences for shooting a law enforcement officers

Shooting happened in March 2019

Marshall Meadows mugshot overlaid on an image from Iron Gate on March 20, 2019. (WSLS 10 / Alleghany Regional Jail)

ALLEGHANY COUNTY, Va. – A 60-year-old Iron Gate man may spend the rest of his life in jail after shooting at multiple law enforcement officers in 2019.

On Tuesday, Marshall Dale Meadows pleaded guilty to nine counts of attempted capital murder of a law enforcement officer and five counts of using a firearm in the commission of attempted capital murder.

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When he’s sentenced in November, he will face a possible maximum of nine life sentences plus a mandatory 15 years.

On March 20, 2019, officers received multiple shots fired calls from people in Iron Gate, according to Alleghany County Commonwealth’s Attorney Ann Gardner.

They responded to 802 Commerce Avenue shortly after 9:30 p.m. and were shot at by Meadows, who was inside the home.

Gardner said that Meadows was drinking and angry and used a 12-gauge shotgun, a .30-06-caliber rifle and a .22-caliber magnum rifle to fire at members of the Alleghany County Sheriff’s Office, Clifton Forge Police Department and Virginia State Police.

While Meadows did not hit any officers, he did hit a Virginia State Police vehicle.

After a nearly two-hour standoff, Capt. Steve Thrasher and Sgt. Chris Fisher, both with the Alleghany County Sheriff’s Office, were able to negotiate with Meadows and convince him to surrender.

During the encounter, no officers fired their weapons at Meadows, said Gardner.