Police are searching for a man suspected of fatally shooting a Maryland judge who had awarded custody of the suspect’s children to his wife on the day of the killing, authorities said Friday.
The judge was shot in his driveway Thursday evening while his wife and son were home and just hours after he ruled against the suspect in a divorce case, authorities said.
Washington County Sheriff Brian Albert said authorities are “actively working” to apprehend 49-year-old Pedro Argote for the “targeted attack” of Maryland Circuit Court Judge Andrew Wilkinson.
Wilkinson, 52, was found with gunshot wounds around 8 p.m. Thursday outside his home in Hagerstown, authorities said. Wilkinson was taken to Meritus Medical Center, where he died of his injuries.
Albert said at a news conference Friday that authorities are “actively looking” for Argote, who is considered “armed and dangerous.” Albert declined to identify that type of weapon used in the slaying but said Argote legally owned a handgun.
Wilkinson had presided over a divorce proceeding involving Argote earlier Thursday, but Argote was not present for the hearing.
The judge gave custody of Argote’s children to his wife at the hearing, and that was the motive for the killing, the sheriff said.
Wilkinson issued a judgment Thursday, officially granting the divorce and awarding sole custody of the couple’s four children — ages 12, 11, 5 and 3 — to their mother, court records show. He ordered Argote to have no contact with the children and pay $1,120 a month in child support.
Court records show a messy legal battle that began when Argote filed for divorce last year.
In his initial court filing, Argote accused his wife of neglecting her homeschooling responsibilities and failing to properly supervise the children. But she filed a countercomplaint, accusing Argote of “cruel treatment” and saying she couldn’t support herself financially.
Days later, his wife requested a protective order, saying he was harassing her via text, controlling her every move, threatening to abuse their daughter and making false accusations against her.
“I don’t get out of the house without his knowledge,” she wrote in court documents. “I know he has his weapon on him at all times.”
A judge granted a temporary protective order — which included a directive for Argote to surrender his firearms — but it was dismissed weeks later at the wife’s request, court records show.
Argote repeatedly proposed that they continue living in the same house while they sorted out their digital advertising business and became more financially stable.
Wilkinson wrote in a March 2023 opinion that Argote’s proposal was “frankly, a non-starter.”
“The testimony leaves this court with the uneasy sense that Father engages in absolute control over Mother, their finances, and their lives,” Wilkinson wrote. “This is not in the best interests of the children.”
Argote was ordered to move out of his family’s home the same day.
Messages left seeking comments at cell phone numbers listed for Argote weren’t immediately returned.
Argote didn’t have a criminal record in Washington County, but officers had “responded to the residence for verbal domestic assaults two times within the last few years,” Albert said.
Attorneys in the divorce case did not immediately respond to emails and calls seeking comment. However, the attorney representing the children had words of praise for the late jurist.
“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.”
State troopers were deployed overnight as a precaution to protect judges who live in Washington County, state police spokesperson Elena Russo said.
Governor Wes Moore today released the following statement regarding the killing of Judge Andrew Wilkinson:
“I am shocked, heartbroken, and sickened by the killing of Judge Andrew Wilkinson. He was the victim of a cold-blooded, vicious, and targeted attack. My heart goes out to Judge Wilkinson’s family, and my prayers are with everyone who knew him, loved him, and served alongside him.
My team has been in close contact with the judiciary and with leadership in Hagerstown and Washington County, including local law enforcement and elected officials. Maryland State Police troopers were dispatched to protect other judges, and I am receiving consistent updates from Superintendent of State Police Roland Butler.
The State of Maryland is supporting law enforcement in their investigation and local, state, and federal partners are actively engaged in the search for the suspect. Anyone with knowledge that could aid in the investigation is encouraged to contact authorities immediately.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.”
In a statement, the Maryland Judiciary said it is mourning Wilkinson’s death, and it is working with law enforcement to help resolve the matter and ensure the safety of judges, staff and visitors.
Wilkinson had been an associate judge on the 4th Judicial Circuit in Washington County since January 2020, according to the Maryland Manual.
He was the sole practitioner at Wilkinson Law from 2018 to 2019; a partner at Divelbiss & Wilkinson from 2014 to 2018 (and an associate there from 2012 to 2014); and a partner at Barton & Williams from 2003 to 2006 (and associate there from 1998 to 2003). Wilkinson was a member of the State Board of Law Examiners’ character committee from 2006 to 2019 and an assistant county attorney in Washington County from 2006 to 2012.
Born in Agana, Guam, he graduated from the University of North Carolina with a bachelor’s degree in economics in 1994 and from Emory University School of Law in 1997. He then became a circuit court law clerk in Washington County.
At his swearing-in as a Circuit Court associate judge , 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.
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.
Judges across the U.S. have been the target of threats and sometimes violence in recent years. President Joe Biden last year signed a bill to give around-the-clock security protection to the families of Supreme Court justices after the leak of a draft court opinion overturning the Roe v. Wade abortion-rights decision, which prompted protests outside of conservative U.S. Supreme Court justices’ homes.
The Maryland State Committee of the American College of Trial Lawyers released this statement:
“The Maryland State Committee of the American College of Trial Lawyers (ACTL) grieves the assassination of Washington County Circuit Court Judge Andrew (“Drew”) Wilkinson and calls for government action to protect the safety, security, and independence of all state and federal judges throughout the United States. As Attorney General Merrick Garland has stated: “The rise of violence and unlawful threats of violence directed at those who serve the public is unacceptable and dangerous to our democracy.” We cannot tolerate violence or threats of violence against judges or any other public servants at work, home, or any other location.”
In June 2022, a retired Wisconsin county circuit judge, John Roemer was killed in his home in what authorities said was a targeted killing. That same month, a man carrying a gun, a knife and zip ties was arrested near Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s house in Maryland after threatening to kill the justice.
A men’s rights lawyer with a history of anti-feminist writings, posed as a FedEx delivery person in 2020 and fatally shot the 20-year-old son of U.S. District Judge Esther Salas, and wounded her husband at their New Jersey home. Salas in another part of the home at the time and was not injured.
And a Texas woman was charged in August with threatening to kill U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan, who is overseeing the Washington case accusing Donald Trump of conspiring to overturn his 2020 election loss.
The Associated Press’ Alanna Durkin Richer in Boston and Jennifer Farrar in New York contributed to this article, as did Baltimore Sun staff.
