LYNCHBURG, VA — The former acting head of Lynchburg Community Corrections & Pretrial Services pleaded guilty in federal court Monday to a string of crimes tied to her romantic relationship with a fugitive she once supervised — including providing him unauthorized access to law enforcement databases and obstructing a federal manhunt.
Jennifer Peters, 43, of Madison Heights, admitted to four federal charges: conspiracy, obstruction of a federal proceeding, making false representations, and destruction of evidence. Prosecutors said she used her position to help her then-boyfriend, Brendon Cole Webber, avoid capture while he was wanted on a firearms charge.
According to court documents, Peters and Webber began a relationship around August of last year while she was serving as Acting Director of LCCPS. Despite being directly or indirectly responsible for supervising Webber’s probation, Peters used her agency access to retrieve confidential information from the Lynchburg Police Department’s Records Management System (RMS) and gave it to Webber, who later distributed it.
Webber was charged in November with illegal firearm possession under Virginia law. A warrant was issued and a federal fugitive search began. Rather than alert authorities, Peters drove Webber from Virginia to Hughestown, Pennsylvania on December 19 in an attempt to help him evade capture. She also booked a hotel room along the way.
When questioned by federal agents, Peters lied about her contact with Webber and claimed she didn’t know his whereabouts. She also misled investigators about the location of her own cellphone — which she had given to a friend — and later destroyed the phone by discarding it in a landfill to prevent its contents from being accessed.
Webber was arrested in Pennsylvania on January 9. He has since pleaded guilty to both state and federal charges, including conspiracy to obstruct justice and unlawful firearm possession by a felon.
Both Peters and Webber are awaiting sentencing.
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Key Points
- Jennifer Peters pleaded guilty to four federal charges linked to helping a fugitive avoid arrest
- Peters used her official position to access and share confidential police records with her boyfriend
- She later lied to investigators and destroyed her phone to obstruct a federal investigation
Corrections chief turned accomplice admits to helping fugitive boyfriend run from the law