On December 13, 1977, a 22-year-old man was pulled over for failing to cease at a cease signal. It turned out, he was additionally driving with no license and was arrested on the spot. The younger man was dropped at the native police division the place he was booked, as seen above — and he didn’t appear all that anxious about it. The smile on his face suggests he was extra inquisitive about getting mug shot than he was involved concerning the crime he had dedicated. And that turned out to be prescient. He spent the night time within the native jail however was launched with out additional penalties, apparently, and the arrest didn’t preclude him from having future success. The particular person pictured above is Invoice Gates, the multi-billionaire founding father of Microsoft. And a long time later, the corporate used a silhouetted model of his mugshot because the default avatar for Outlook 2010.
Gates’ mugshot although will not be the norm. Most often, the explanation the police take a mugshot is to have a file of what you appear like, in case you skip bail or are accused of committing one other crime — it helps the authorities monitor you down or determine a suspect. In the event you’re the suspect or prison, you most likely aren’t terribly involved with how cool your mugshot seems.
However most individuals aren’t Donald “Chip” Pugh, pictured beneath.
In November 2015, Pugh was arrested in Lima, Ohio, for allegedly driving underneath the affect; the image above was taken after that. He was supposed to look in courtroom the subsequent month however didn’t present up; because the Washington Put up reported, he’d later say “I simply selected to not go.” That, in fact, makes you a fugitive, albeit one cops usually gained’t care to trace down. However sadly for Pugh, drunk driving was solely the tip of the costs laid at his ft. Per one other Washington Put up report, the Lima police division posted the mugshot above to Fb, noting that “Mr. Pugh can also be presently an individual of curiosity in a number of different circumstances, [including] arson and vandalism.”
The police division acquired a response to their request for assist — from Pugh himself. He wasn’t a fan of how he regarded, so he despatched an up to date image, seen beneath.
Courageous? Silly? Each? It might go both method, however regardless, the choice gave Pugh his fifteen minutes of fame — one thing you most likely don’t need if you’re a fugitive from the legislation. However Pugh leaned into it, even calling a neighborhood radio station to share his view on his pic. Per the Washington Put up, he advised the radio hosts “They simply did me incorrect. They put an image out that had me wanting like I used to be a Thundercat or any person, man.” [For the record, the Thundercats are awesome and Pugh would be so lucky.]
Whereas Pugh didn’t inform the radio station the place he was, the media pickup round his story was sufficient to do him in. Because the police division shared in January 2016, “due to the ability of social media and suggestions known as into authorities,” officers in Florida — far sufficient away from Ohio the place he most likely wouldn’t have been caught in any other case — positioned Pugh and arrested him. The Florida police additionally took a mugshot, and for those who click on that hyperlink, you’ll get to see that Pugh didn’t make the identical mistake twice. This time, he’s smiling for the digital camera.
Bonus truth: On November 28, 2018, the Richland, Washington police division did one thing much like what Lima did above, sharing the photograph of Anthony Akers, a former convict needed for a probation violation. They didn’t have to, apparently, and Akers made that clear: he replied to the submit himself, saying “Relax, I’m going to show myself in.” He didn’t accomplish that instantly, so, per NBC Information, “the division responded just a few days later telling Akers the hours they’re open,” and the dialog continued, with Akers informing the police that he simply wanted to deal with just a few “free ends” first and would in the end give up himself. And he was telling the reality: inside per week or so, he turned up on the police division.
From the Archives: The Man Who LIked Himself So A lot, He Went to Jail: The police posted his mugshot to Fb. He hit the “Like” button.
