The FBI announced Sunday it is offering a reward of up to $50,000 for information to the capture of Michael Timothy Puckett, wanted for aggravated murder in the shooting death of a Virginia sheriff’s deputy on Friday. Photo courtesy Wytheville, Va., Police Department
May 31 (UPI) — The FBI on Sunday offered a reward of up to $50,000 for information leading to the capture of a man accused of shooting one Virginia sheriff’s deputy to death and injuring another.
The agency’s Richmond office made the offer as it conducts a manhunt for Michael Timothy Puckett, 55, who last seen on a wildlife camera north of Mount Airy, N.C., at 1:50 p.m. EDT on Sunday.
The U.S. Marshall’s Service is also offering $10,000 for information on Puckett, who is charged with aggravated murder in the slaying of Carroll County, Va., Sheriff’s Deputy Logan Utt on Friday in Wytheville, Va., about 300 miles southwest of Washington, D.C.
Authorities said Utt was killed and another deputy was wounded when Puckett allegedly opened fire on them as they came to his home for a “welfare check” at 9:30 p.m.
The gunman then fled the scene and has since been the subject of “a massive operation” headquartered in Cana, Va., involving the Virginia State Police, FBI, U.S. Marshals, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, Carroll County Sheriff’s Office and North Carolina law enforcement.
Police are asking home and business owners in the Surry County, N.C., area to lock their vehicles, close garage doors, lock up sheds and “do not leave anything outside Puckett could use to assist him to elude capture.
“Call 911 if you see Puckett,” they warned.