Pulaski County Sheriff Bobby Jones announces the arrest of a registered sex offender from the state of Virginia following an undercover investigation into suspected online communication with a person he believed to be a fourteen-year-old female.
On October 18, 2026, representatives of Kentucky PredoPursuit contacted the Pulaski County Sheriff’s Office regarding communications between the suspect, identified as Michael Dale Carico, 51, of Bristol, Virginia, and an undercover decoy posing as a juvenile female.
According to the investigation, the communications included sexually explicit messages and discussions concerning sexual activity with the person Carico believed to be a minor. Carico allegedly arranged to meet the decoy at a residence in Somerset and indicated that he was traveling to the location to pick her up.
Detective Trent Massey with the Pulaski County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigation Division, working in coordination with Kentucky PredoPursuit, conducted a preliminary investigation. Detectives later observed a vehicle consistent with the information provided and conducted a traffic stop in Somerset.
Carico was identified as the driver and placed under arrest. He was transported to the Pulaski County Detention Center where he is still currently being held without bond.
Carico was charged with Procuring or Using a Minor by Electronic Means and Attempted Unlawful Transaction with a Minor in the First Degree — Illegal Sexual Act, Under Sixteen.
Det. Massey was assisted in the investigation by Detective Branson Patterson, Narcotics Detective Tan Hudson, and Sergeant Ron Hellard.