Manhunt continues for suspect in ‘targeted’ killing of Maryland judge; U.S. Marshals Service

A $10,000 reward is now being offered for information that leads to the arrest of a man accused of fatally shooting a Maryland judge in a “targeted attack” outside his home.

The U.S. Marshals Service said Friday that it is seeking the public’s help in finding Pedro Argote, 49, who is wanted in connection with the killing of Washington County Circuit Court Judge Andrew Wilkinson. The shooting occurred hours after the judge gave the Argote’s estranged wife custody of their four minor children, according to officials.

Argote has ties to multiple areas outside of Maryland including Brooklyn and Long Island, New York; Columbus, Indiana; and Tampa and Clearwater, Florida, the Marshals Service said in a news release. He also has connections to unknown locations in North Carolina.

Argote should be considered armed and dangerous. He may be driving a silver 2009 Mercedes GL 450, authorities said.

Wilkinson was the judge overseeing Argote’s divorce case, filed in June 2022. On Thursday morning, hours before the shooting, he had presided over a hearing in the case and granted Argote’s wife an absolute divorce from him as well as sole legal custody of their four children, ages 12, 11, 5, and 3. 

Argote did not attend the hearing.

The judge ordered that Argote not to contact or visit the children and barred him from contacting the wife unless initiated by her for the purpose of using a 2009 Mercedes for necessary shopping trips and medical appointments, the court document stated. Argote was also banned from entering the family home and ordered to pay $1,120 a month in child support.

The judgment attributed the decision to a finding of “cruelty of treatment” and “irreconcilable differences.” Washington County Sheriff Brian K. Albert said Friday that the shooting was in response to the judge’s custody decision. 

In June 2022, the wife filed a domestic violence petition alleging that there had been physical abuse against one of their daughters.

She wrote that she felt unsafe because he would keep a weapon on him and that she feared he would try and take the children away from her.

She also accused him of harassing her through emails and texts, watching her through the home’s security cameras and controlling her emotionally and financially. The petition was dismissed less than two weeks after she filed it. It’s not clear why.