The public wasn't sharing a complicated discussion of warrants or court procedure.
They were sharing the unbelievable image of a wanted man apparently helping police improve their wanted poster.
Then the Story Took Another Turn
Pugh's moment of internet fame didn't last long before authorities found him.
On January 12, 2016, just days after the Lima Police Department's January 6 post, Pugh was arrested in Century, Florida, near Pensacola.
CBS News reported that the Escambia County Sheriff's Office said a tip helped authorities locate him.
At the time of his Florida arrest, Pugh was also being held in connection with warrants from Columbus, Georgia, according to CBS.
The arrest gave law enforcement an irresistible opportunity to continue the joke.
The Escambia County Sheriff's Office posted another mugshot of Pugh and publicly teased him about his earlier concern over photographs.
Their message asked how he liked the new picture and joked that perhaps his selfie had helped people identify him.
The Lima Police Department, meanwhile, credited social media and tips from members of the public with helping lead to the arrest.
The irony was complete.
Pugh had objected to an unflattering police image and voluntarily provided a more recognizable photograph of himself.
Then the story surrounding that selfie spread nationally.
Soon afterward, a tip contributed to his arrest.
It is impossible to say that the selfie alone caused him to be caught. But the publicity certainly didn't make him less recognizable.
A Very Different Kind of Wanted Poster
Wanted notices traditionally depend on one principle: visibility.
Police need enough people to see a suspect's image that someone who recognizes the person can provide useful information.
Pugh's intervention unintentionally gave the Lima Police Department something even more valuable than a replacement photograph.
He gave the wanted notice a story.
Without the selfie, the department's post might have remained a local law-enforcement appeal seen primarily by residents of Lima and the surrounding area.
With the selfie, it became entertainment.
People shared it not because they were necessarily searching for Pugh but because the situation was funny.
That humor dramatically increased the number of people who saw his face.
The police department's own figure of more than 814,000 views demonstrates just how dramatically the reach expanded.
It is an unusual example of how social-media virality can amplify a law-enforcement message for reasons that have almost nothing to do with the original purpose of the post.
The public may have arrived for the joke.
But they still saw the photograph.
The Man Who Wanted His Good Side Seen
Years later, the story remains memorable because it is so easy to summarize.