MORGANTOWN —The Monongalia County Sheriff’s Department arrested a Pennsylvania man, who confessed to robbing Big Dog Café on Tuesday morning.
Jerry Pugh Sr., 48, of Perryoplis, Pa., is charged with armed robbery, fugitive from justice and felon in possession of a firearm.
Sheriff Perry Palmer told The Dominion Post teamwork played an important role in Pugh’s capture.
“It’s a good piece of work from our detective unit developing a suspect and getting it out to our guys on the road,” he said.
Pugh is accused of robbing the Big Dog Café on Point Marion Road at about 1 a.m. Tuesday. The suspect was described as a white male in his 40s, with a gray and brown goatee, about 6 feet tall and wearing a grayish-white hoodie.
A gun was flashed and the suspect left in a white vehicle with an undetermined amount of cash. The lone clerk was unharmed in the robbery, a press release stated.
A tip led detectives to believe Pugh was the robber and his 2007 white Honda Accord matches security footage, according to a criminal complaint.
Pugh was arrested Tuesday after deputies responded to a single-vehicle accident involving Pugh on Canyon Road.
During the crash investigation, it was discovered Pugh was the driver and was wanted in Greene County, Pa., for another robbery. Palmer told The Dominion Post Pugh is suspected of robbing the Bell’s store in Mount Morris, Pa.
A loaded .308 magazine was found in Pugh’s car, and a witness showed deputies a spot about 100 yards from the accident where they saw Pugh drop a plastic bag. Inside the bag was a Ruger .308 handgun.
The Ruger was confirmed to be the weapon used in the robbery, the press release stated.
Pugh, convicted of robbery in 2008, is not allowed to own firearms under West Virginia law.
Mon County Detective Jon Friend and a detective from Pennsylvania who helped with the interview were able to obtain a confession to both robberies, Palmer said.
Pugh is being held in North Central Regional Jail in lieu of $150,000 bond.
Felon in possession of a firearm is punishable by up to five years incarceration and/or fined not more than $5,000. Armed robbery carries a sentence of not less than 10 years.
