Harrison County Fugitive Arrested in Huntington by U.S. Marshals Task Force

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — The U.S. Marshals Cops United Felony Fugitive Enforcement Division (CUFFED) Task Force arrested a Harrison County man in Huntington on charges including failure to register as a sex offender.

William Michael Smith, 55, was arrested by members of the CUFFED Task Force — which included deputies from Cabell and Kanawha County, as well as the West Virginia State Police– at 7 p.m. in the 700 block of Jefferson Avenue.

In total, he was wanted for three counts of failing to register as a sex offender, federal supervised release violations and battery.

After leaving the Clarksburg City Mission, it is believed Smith traveled to Ohio and Florida before coming back to Huntington and taking up residence with a girlfriend.

Smith did not notify the West Virginia State Police and his federal supervised release officer of his intentions to move or leave the state prior to doing so, nor did he inform any of these agencies of his new residence in Huntington.

“The information we can gain about an individual through the combined knowledge of our task force’s state and local counterparts proved once again to be invaluable in tracking and apprehending this felon” Deputy Marshal John LaJeunesse said.

Smith’s failure to register violations stem from a 1983 conviction for 1st Degree Sexual Abuse in Huntington, while his federal probation violation arises from a 2001 conviction for being a Felon in Possession of a Weapon.

Charges of Battery have been filed from an alleged incident with a female resident of the Clarksburg City Mission where Smith was residing.