Highly Regarded Va. Lawyer Killed in Police Standoff
A Virginia lawyer who practiced law with his wife was shot and killed by police Friday after he fired shots in an eight-hour standoff at his home.
The lawyer, Richard Ferris II of Chesterfield, was “highly regarded” for his civil and family law practice, the Richmond Times Dispatch reports. He and his wife, Michelle, practiced law at Ferris & Ferris. Richard Ferris also operated a gun store out of his law office.
Prosecutors from another county will review the incident; the Chesterfield Commonwealth’s Attorney had considered Richard Ferris a friend.
Officers killed Ferris on Friday morning after he fired at them twice, the story says. He had been holed up in his house for about eight hours after his wife called police and said she was concerned about him, but not herself. Officers tried to persuade her to leave the home, but she refused for three hours, police told the newspaper. Finally she left with her four children.
Local lawyers said they were shocked to hear of the incident. A real-estate broker who did closings with Michelle Ferris also expressed astonishment. “They seemed to be the total family,” she told the Times Dispatch, “the family that seemed to have it all together.”
