North Fork killer up for parole on Tuesday

An Oklahoma man who brutally murdered a North Fork man in 1979 will have a parole hearing on Tuesday.

J.R. Fletcher was convicted of deliberate homicide and sentenced to 100 years in prison for torturing and murdering Roy Cooper at his Polebridge-area home 35 years ago.

Fletcher previously was denied parole in 2009 in a unanimous decision by the state’s parole board. In its denial, the three-member board cited the severe nature of his crime, his criminal history and the detriment to society and Fletcher himself.

Pardons and Parole Senior Parole Analyst Julie Thomas said her office has received a number of letters and emails opposing Fletcher’s parole.

Flathead County Attorney Ed Corrigan is scheduled to attend Tuesday’s hearing. Corrigan testified against Fletcher’s release in 2009.

In 1979, Fletcher, his wife and another man were attempting to flee to Canada while on the run from Oklahoma authorities where Fletcher had broken his parole. The three got stuck in Cooper’s muddy driveway on April 7, 1979, while on their way north. They awakened Cooper, who was helping them pull the truck out when the three decided to steal Cooper’s horses.

They forced Cooper to saddle the horses and then held him at gunpoint while they burglarized other area homes.

The trio — Fletcher, Teresa Jean Fletcher and Ronald L. White — then held Cooper hostage in his own home while torturing and robbing him. Fletcher eventually stabbed Cooper, who died from knife wounds to his neck.

All three were later arrested after a shootout with police officers in Idaho.

Fletcher threatened to kill Cooper’s family when he was convicted.

Teresa Fletcher was convicted of mitigated deliberate homicide and has since been paroled. White was convicted of aggravated kidnapping and has also been paroled.

J.R. Fletcher’s hearing will be at the Montana State Prison at 9 a.m. on Tuesday.

He will again be seen by a three-person board. Montana law states that someone “eligible for parole shall be released when there is a reasonable probability that no detriment will result to him or the community.”

Board members must also consider the best interests of society and whether they believe that the inmate will be able to behave as a law-abiding citizen.

Letters to the parole board can be sent to 1002 Hollenbeck Road, Deer Lodge, MT, 59722 or emailed to Julie Thomas at jpribnow@mt.gov.  

Reporter Brittany Brevik may be reached at 758-4459 or by email at bbrevik@dailyinterlake.com.