MORGANTOWN — The U.S. Marshals Service is asking for the public’s help finding James Tyrone Pugh.
Pugh, aka “Tyke” or “Fam,” is a 46-year-old Black man about 5 feet 8 inches tall and 195 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes.
He is wanted by the FBI/Mon Metro Drug Task Force for possession with intent to distribute fentanyl and conspiracy to distribute. Pugh was indicted for those crimes in October 2020.
Pugh is known to frequent parts of West Virginia, including Morgantown, Wheeling and Beckley. He also has ties to other states, including New York, Texas, Illinois, California and Florida, according to the Marshals Service.
“Obviously he’s been indicted since October, and we’ve been trying to locate him since that time,” Acting United States Agent Terry Moore said.
Then-U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of West Virginia Bill Powell announced Pugh’s indictment and those against 24 others as part of an operation against drug trafficking of methamphetamine, cocaine, fentanyl and heroin being brought to Monongalia County from California, Houston, Texas and Mexico.
Moore said the Marshals Service asking for the public’s help finding suspects is another tool law enforcement can use when normal investigative techniques are unsuccessful.
“Tips come in, sometimes they lead directly to the subject, sometimes they point us to an area, ‘Hey, we saw him at a gas station.’ From there, we’re able to pinpoint his location,” Moore said.
Anyone with information on Pugh is asked to call the U.S. Marshals Service at 304-623-0486.
