BATH, NY (WENY) -- A man from Bath will spend at least 55 years in state prison for a multi-hour standoff in August of 2023, where he fired shots at law enforcement.

According to the Steuben County District Attorney, 53-year-old Larry J. Schoonover was sentenced to 35 years to life for 12 counts of Attempted Murder of as Police Officer, and 20 years for First Degree Criminal Use of a Firearm. The sentences will be served consecutively.

On August 20, 2023, Schoonover sparked a six-hour long armed standoff at his home on Roosevelt Avenue in Bath. Law enforcement first responded to the scene for a reported domestic situation. Police say Schoonover had fired a gun inside the home, before barricading himself inside. A woman inside the home at the time was able to escape safely. 

During the standoff, police said Schoonover fired multiple shots at law enforcement on scene, who returned fire. The situation lasted for more than six hours, ending when Schoonover went outside with a shotgun, and refused to follow orders of police. When Schoonover fired at New York State troopers, they returned fire, hitting Schoonover in the leg and bringing the situation to an end.

Schoonover was found guilty at a jury trial in Steuben County court in November 2024, where the jury deliberated for more than five hours. 

“This is an individual who has engaged in similar conduct in the past, at a lesser level. They system gave him every possible tool to prevent this from happening and he went forward and tried to kill brave men and women from the New York State Police, Steuben County Sheriff’s Office and Bath Village Police Department as they did their jobs – trying to protect his neighbors and even the Defendant from harm. Given the facts proven at trial, but for the Grace of God this would have been a homicide case – and today’s sentence appropriately reflects that reality. The only way to protect our community, and those who help protect it, is to remove Larry Schoonover from it for a very long time and send a message that this type of conduct simply will not be tolerated – and today that happened – justice happened," said District Attorney Brooks Baker. 

According to DA Baker, the judge overseeing the case made it clear that Schoonover's actions and history of similar conduct, exhibited a "clear intent to kill" - making the sentence both necessary and appropriate.