This Fugitive Didn't Like His Mug Shot — So He Sent Cops a Selfie

When 45-year-old Donald "Chip" Pugh saw that Lima, Ohio, authorities announced a public search for him on Facebook, he wasn't concerned with being in trouble with the law so much as he was self-conscious about the mugshot accompanying the post. For the sake of better press, Pugh offered the police another photo, messaging them a selfie with the caption, "Here is a better photo. That one is terrible."

And they say millennials are vain. 

The police posted Pugh's decidedly less-cool mugshot after he allegedly failed to show up to his court date for a November DUI, the Washington Post reported. The Facebook post noted he is a a "person of interest in several other cases, including an arson and vandalism." 

To Pugh's credit — given the suit jacket, aviator sunglasses and better lighting — the selfie is a better shot. The police humored Pugh and included the new photo in the original Facebook post, but they wrote they would still like Pugh to make an IRL appearance. 

Police captioned the selfie, "We thank him for being helpful, but now we would appreciate it if he would come speak to us at the LPD about his charges."

A local radio station dubbed Pugh "Idiot of the Day" and interviewed him on air, according to the Washington Post. When the show's hosts asked Pugh about his whereabouts, he refused to give himself away, joking that he was building tunnels to McDonald's with El Chapo. Pugh said he deliberately chose not go to court, telling the radio station, "Lima news put it out there like I burned down someone's house ... going around like Bonnie and Clyde. After this [Facebook post] took off like it did, I started having fun with it. ... I did it for all my idiot friends."

Pugh insisted the unfortunate mugshot makes him the ultimate victim of injustice. "They just did me wrong," he said, the Washington Post reported. "They put a picture out that had me looking like I was a Thundercat or somebody, man."