A judge was shot and killed outside his home in Hagerstown, Maryland, on Thursday night, and a manhunt is underway for a suspect whose divorce case was overseen by the victim.
Maryland Circuit Court Judge Andrew Wilkinson died. He was 52.
The U.S. Marshals Service is searching for 49-year-old Pedro Argote, who is considered armed and dangerous.
Officials believe Argote targeted Wilkinson because the judge granted custody of his four children to Argote's wife during a divorce proceeding earlier Thursday, Washington County Sheriff Brian Albert said at a news conference Friday morning. He denied Argote visitation rights based on a history of domestic violence. Argote did not attend the hearing.
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“This was a targeted attack on Judge Wilkinson," Albert said.
Gov. Wes Moore said he was “shocked, heartbroken, and sickened by” the killing and said state and federal law enforcement are searching for the suspect.
“Judge Wilkinson spent his career in defense of justice. We must now ensure that the perpetrator of this vile act faces justice and Judge Wilkinson’s family gets the support they need and deserve,” Moore said in a statement.
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Wilkinson was shot multiple times in his driveway at about 8 p.m. Thursday. His wife and son were inside the family's home at the time of the shooting, Albert said.
Wilkinson was rushed to Meritus Medical Center, where he died of his injuries.
Argote is 5-foot-7 and 130 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes. He may be driving a silver 2009 Mercedes GL450 with Maryland plates 4EH0408, the sheriff's office said.
Police said Argote has ties to Brooklyn and Long Island in New York; Tampa and Clearwater in Florida; Columbus, Indiana, and unknown cities in North Carolina.
Anyone with potentially relevant information is asked to contact police.
Argote legally owns a handgun, Albert said. He lives on Jacob Bruner Drive in Frederick. Neighbors said he moved in a few months ago, was friendly and had his children over.
Court records show Wilkinson presided over a divorce proceeding on Thursday morning between Argote and his wife. Argote is listed as the plaintiff who brought the divorce case in June 2022.
Albert said deputies had responded to the couple's home twice in the past "few years" for verbal domestic assaults. Court records show Argote was named in a domestic violence petition in June 2022. It was dismissed at the request of the person who asked for it.
Attorneys on both sides of the divorce case didn't immediately respond to emails and calls seeking comment.
A true public servant
Wilkinson was a true public servant, state Sen. Paul Corderman said, calling his murder “absolutely horrific.”
The attorney who representeded Argote's children in the divorce case called him amazing.
"Judge Wilkinson was an amazing man, father, husband and judge and I am blessed to have known and worked with him," attorney Ashley Wilburn wrote in an email. "He is a hero."
Wilkinson was sworn in as a circuit court judge in 2020. The 1994 University of North Carolina graduate received his law degree from Emory University School of Law in 1997 and became a circuit court law clerk in Washington County.
At his swearing-in, Wilkinson said he wanted to become a judge to serve the community, The Herald-Mail reported.
"It’s an honor, and it’s humbling and I’m happy to serve,” he said.
Wilkinson thanked retired Judge Frederick C. Wright III for guiding his career. Wilkinson’s military family had moved around, but when Wright hired his mother as a law clerk in 1983, Hagerstown became his home.
Flagging judges' safety
State troopers were deployed as a precaution to protect judges who live in Washington County, state police spokeswoman Elena Russo said.
"We don't feel that there's any threat currently to the other judges in the county or the state," Albert said.
In a statement, the Maryland Judiciary said it is mourning Wilkinson's death and working with law enforcement to help ensure the safety of judges, staff and visitors.
Wilkinson’s killing marks the third targeted shooting of a state judge in the past three years, according to the National Center for State Courts.
The Conference of Chief Justices and Conference of State Court Administrators issued a statement reading, in part: “The assassination of Judge Wilkinson should be shocking to all Americans. Unfortunately, we fear it is not. The sustained attacks in recent years on the rule of law, public institutions of government and the courts are now having their effects. We ask all Americans to think carefully about this troubling trend.”
The court where Wilkinson worked was open a day after the killing, with flags flying at half-staff.
In Maryland, circuit courts in each county handle serious criminal and civil cases, including many that are appealed from the lower-level district courts, according to the state courts website.
Hagerstown, a city of nearly 44,000 people, lies about 75 miles northwest of Baltimore, in the panhandle of Maryland, near the state lines of West Virginia and Pennsylvania.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
