Massachusetts State Police, local police, arrest man in Bristol County wanted in New York murder

Members of the Massachusetts State Police Violent Fugitive Apprehension Section, a United States Marshals Service Task Force, and Mansfield Police yesterday captured a suspect wanted for a 21-year-old New York City homicide.

According to Dave Procopio of Massachusetts State Police, MSP VFAS Troopers and Mansfield Officers took 41-year-old Terris Oliver into custody just before noon Thursday outside the Red Roof Inn in Mansfield. Earlier yesterday, MSP VFAS received intelligence from the New York Police Department that Oliver might be staying at that hotel. Trooper Phillip Giardino observed a vehicle connected to Oliver outside the hotel, which led investigators to establish surveillance of the building. At approximately 11:30 a.m., a surveillance team observed Oliver walking outside the back of the hotel, smoking a cigarette. Troopers, Officers, and Task Force members converged on the suspect and arrested him without incident.

Oliver is wanted for the March 27, 2002, homicide of 19-year-old Atari Felton in the Bronx borough of New York City. 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. Evidence suggests that the homicide was committed in furtherance of a conspiracy to distribute narcotics. Police in New York arrested Ayala on July 19, 2022, but Oliver remained at large until yesterday. Intelligence indicates he had been staying at the Red Roof Inn with a female acquaintance.

After Oliver’s arrest yesterday, Troopers transported him to the United States District Courthouse in Boston.