Suspect Wanted on Double Homicide and Failure to Appear on Drug Charges Arrested in New York City

Martinsburg, WV – On June 5, 2024, a warrant was issued out of Berkeley County for Manuel Ernest Watson Gordon,33, of Hagerstown, Maryland. The warrant charged Watson Gordon with failure to appear on charges of distribution of Fentanyl and Cocaine.

The charges were a result of an undercover purchase of narcotics in September of 2023 conducted by the Eastern Panhandle Drug and Violent Crimes Task Force.

On July 26, 2024, the Berkeley County Prosecutor’s Office requested the assistance of the U.S. Marshals Mountain State Fugitive Task Force in apprehending Watson Gordon. Investigators quickly learned Watson Gordon was wanted by the Hagerstown Police Department in Maryland for a double homicide. The charges stem from a shooting on Washington Street in July of 2024.

The task force searched for Watson Gordon in West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Maryland. At the end of 2024, information was developed Watson Gordon may have returned to New York where his family was originally from. The USMS requested the assistance of the Marshals Service New York and New Jersey Regional Fugitive Task Force to help locate Manuel Watson Gordon.

On January 23, 2025, members of the task force located and arrested Manuel Watson Gordon in the unit block of Main Street, Yonkers, New York without incident.

“Federal, and local law enforcement agencies in West Virginia, Maryland and New York working together were able to develop a location for this violent offender,” said Acting U.S. Marshal Terry Moore. “This arrest is a great example of how the Marshals Service’s partnerships with state and local agencies give these fugitives no place to hide.”

Agencies involved in the search for Watson Gordon were: U.S. Marshals Service, Berkeley County Sheriff’s Office, Hagerstown Police Department, Martinsburg Police Department, and the Eastern Panhandle Drug and Violent Crimes Task Force.

Watson Gordon is currently being held in Yonkers, New York and will be extradited to West Virginia and Maryland. Additional information on this case may be obtained from the Berkeley County Prosecutor’s Office in Martinsburg, West Virginia, or the Hagerstown Police Department in Maryland.

Source: U.S. Marshals Service, usmarshals.gov