Memphis, TN - U.S. Marshal Mark S. James, Western District of Missouri, announces the arrest of fugitive Matthew Covey, on March 20, 2019, in Springfield.
Matthew Covey, of New Kensington, PA, was charged in Westmoreland County, PA, with Drug Delivery Resulting in Death, in a case investigated by the New Kensington Police Department in Pennsylvania. The department issued a warrant for Covey’s arrest on October 5th, 2018. The charges stemmed from a Feb. 13, 2018, drug transaction involving heroin and fentanyl, which left 40-year-old Shanelle Waugh of New Kensington, PA, dead. The New Kensington Police Department reached out to the Western Pennsylvania Fugitive Task Force (WPFTF) for assistance in locating and apprehending Covey.
The WPFTF began working the case and developed information that Covey may have fled PA and traveled to the Springfield, MO, area. The WPFTF passed along this information to the U.S. Marshals Service- Midwest Violent Fugitive Task Force (MVFT) in Springfield, MO, who immediately began searching for Covey. U.S. Marshals confirmed Covey’s presence in Springfield, Missouri, where the MVFT closed in on Covey’s location. On March 20, 2019, U.S. Marshals Service investigators located Covey at a motel on North Glenstone Avenue, where the investigators arrested Covey without incident.
The arrest of this fugitive represents the culmination of an extensive, cooperative investigative effort between the New Kensington Police Department, the U.S. Marshals Service-Western Pennsylvania Fugitive Task Force, and the U.S. Marshals Service-Midwest Violent Fugitive Task Force.
The U.S. Marshals Midwest Violent Fugitive Task Force-Springfield Division, operates in conjunction with members of the Greene County Sheriff’s Office, the Christian County Sheriff’s Office, the Springfield Police Department, and the Joplin Police Department.
The task force objectives are to seek out and arrest fugitives charged with violent crimes, drug offenses, sex offenders and other serious felonies. Nationally the United States Marshals Service fugitive programs are carried out with local law enforcement in 94 district offices, 85 local fugitive task forces, 7 regional task forces, as well as a growing network of offices in foreign countries.
Tips can be submitted to the U.S. Marshals service directly and anonymously by downloading the USMS Tips app to your Apple or Android device. It can also be accessed online at https://www.usmarshals.gov/tips/index.html. You can also follow the latest news and updates about the U.S. Marshals Service on Twitter: @USMarshalsHQ.
