CRIME
Suspect In Maryland Judge’s Murder Found Dead, Ending Weeklong Manhunt
Washington County Sheriff's Office
The suspect accused of killing a Maryland judge in his driveway last week was found dead Thursday morning, authorities said.
The discovery Thursday of 49-year-old Pedro Argote’s body in a wooded area of Williamsport about a mile away from where his vehicle was found Sunday brings an end to a weeklong manhunt.
The Washington County Sheriff’s Office said officers were conducting an evidentiary search in the area when Argote’s body was located at around 11 a.m.
According to the sheriff’s office, deputies responded at around 8 p.m. on Oct. 19 to a report of a shooting on the 19100 block of Olde Waterford Road in Hagerstown. The victim, Washington County, Maryland Circuit Court Judge Andrew Wilkinson, 52, was transported to Meritus Medical Center with gunshot wounds, where he later died of his injuries.
On Sunday, authorities said a resident reported seeing the silver Mercedes SUV that Argote was believed to be driving, and it was found in a wooded area in Williamsport, about 8 miles southwest of Hagerstown.
Speaking at a press conference on Friday, Albert described the killing as a targeted attack, and said Wilkinson was shot in his driveway while his wife and son were home.
There was a divorce hearing earlier on Oct. 19, during which Wilkinson awarded custody of Argote’s four children to their mother, but Argote was not in attendance, Albert said. Wilkinson ordered there to be no visitation or contact between Argote and his children, and awarded their mother sole use and possession of the family home, prohibiting Argote from the property, per reports.
We have responded to the residence for verbal domestic assaults two times within the last few years, Albert said, but he was not aware of any criminal record. Albert said Argote owned a handgun legally.
Local and state authorities, along with the U.S. Marshals Service initiated a manhunt, and specifically searched vacant residences and other buildings in the area where the vehicle was found.
“Sadly, divorce comes with an increased risk of violence, not only to the family members but for everyone involved,” said relationship and divorce expert Pilar Prinz. “Nearly every family court judge and family lawyer has experienced personal safety concerns. And if there are mental health issues involved, there’s an even greater concern.”
TMX contributed to this article.
