MANSFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) – A suspect wanted in connection with a homicide 21 years ago in New York City was arrested at Red Roof Inn in Mansfield Thursday.
According to Massachusetts State Police Spokesperson Dave Procopio, at around 12 p.m. 41-year-old Terris Oliver was taken into custody outside the Red Roof Inn in Mansfield by members of the Massachusetts State Police Violent Fugitive Apprehension Section (VFAS), the United States Marshals Service Task Force, and Mansfield Police.
Oliver was wanted in connection with the March 27, 2002 homicide of 19-year-old Atari Felton in the Bronx borough of New York City. Twenty years later in July 2022, NYPD and the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York developed evidence leading to arrest warrants for Oliver and a second suspect, Ricardo Ayala.
Ayala was arrested on July 19, 2022. On Thursday, May 25, 2023, Massachusetts State Police received information from NYPD that Oliver may be staying at the Red Roof Inn in Mansfield. A surveillance was set up and a vehicle was found connected to Oliver outside the hotel. Troopers saw Oliver walking outside the back of the hotel, smoking a cigarette before he was arrested.
The investigation lead to the suggestion that the homicide was committed in furtherance of a conspiracy to distribute narcotics.