RI Family and Friends of Alleged NC Cop Killer Charged with Hiding Fugitive

COVENTRY, RI — Two Coventry residents and a Providence woman who are connected to accused North Carolina cop killer Irving Fenner are facing charges of harboring a criminal after he was located inside a Tiogue Avenue apartment following a national manhunt early Wednesday morning.

Rhode Island State Police Superintendent Col. Steven G. O'Donnell said at a Wednesday afternoon press conference that Jolisa Peeler, 27, of Providence, drove to Shelby, North Carolina, on Sept. 11 to pick up Fenner, 23, after he shot veteran Police Officer Tim Brackeen on Sept. 10. Brackeen died on Sept. 12 as a result of his injuries.

Peeler, Fenner's cousin, harbored Fenner in her Providence apartment before he switched hideouts to Coventry, where his half-sister, Correy Peeler, and Hope Wyman, both of the 300 block of Tiogue Avenue, harbored him until the state police, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Coventry police and the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force arrived and ordered him out of the house. He complied.

Officers from Shelby are en route to Rhode Island to pick up Fenner after his arraignment on a felony warrant. He is likely to waive extradition and travel back to North Carolina where he is facing a first-degree murder charge along with warrants for robbery and kidnapping. He also still has a bullet from Brackeen's gun lodged in his abdomen; it wasn't removed while he was being treated at Rhode Island Hospital following his arrest.

O'Donnell told reporters that Fenner's apprehension, while it won't bring back Brackeen, brings hope for closure for the fallen officer's family and colleagues.

"I hope [his] removal from the streets and being held accountable for his actions will begin the healing process for his [fellow] officers and family," O'Donnell said.

The trail to Fenner began in North Carolina immediately after Brackeen was shot.

Police in Shelby responded to his address in the 200 block of Gidney Street in an attempt to serve outstanding warrants for robbery and kidnapping. Brackeen, while trying to arrest Fenner, was shot during a struggle in the backyard.

Fenner fled on foot and remained at large until his arrest Monday, but detectives wasted no time in developing information that he likely traveled to Rhode Island where he has several family members.

FBI Special Agent Colin Woods said investigators used cell phone information to focus on Rhode Island. Eventually, they determined he might be staying in Jolisa Peeler's apartment on Oxford Street in Providence. The state police SWAT team searched the apartment but came out empty-handed. But investigators soon learned that he might be in Coventry, which is where his capture unfolded at around 2:05 a.m.

Jolisa Peeler is now facing charges out of North Carolina for felony accessory after the fact. Corry Peeler and Hope Wyman are each facing a felony harboring a criminal charge.

O'Donnell noted the cooperation and aggressive effort among all members of federal, state and local law enforcement departments to track down and arrest Fenner.

"Arresting someone who killed a police officer—you know that's the ultimate. You can'd do worse than that in our business," the colonel said in regards to the crime.

Few can appreciate how hard it is to lose someone, O'Donnell said. "They lost their brother, father, someone they admired," he said. "Until you go through that, some have, some have not, it's hard to describe."

While Brackeen's fellow officers will never stop mourning his loss, they "were so happy" that Fenner was captured.

And, O'Donnell said, people can take some solace in knowing that an allegedly dangerous criminal is off the streets.

"That person being arrested is not going to act out any more until their case is adjudicated," he said.

Photo courtesy: Rhode Island State Police