Washington County sheriff: Community can 'breathe a little easier'

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Washington County sheriff wouldn't say how Argote died

The body of the man who is believed to have killed a Washington County judge has been sent for an autopsy after it was found Thursday near Williamsport.

Washington County Sheriff Brian Albert would not say what appeared to be the cause of Pedro Argote's death, saying he is waiting for autopsy results. Albert said after a news conference Thursday that he expects the autopsy to be done Friday morning by the state medical examiner's office in Baltimore.

Albert said Argote's body was found on private property, used for hunting, in an area near and east of the Pinesburg softball complex. The terrain was heavily wooded and steep. The area has an old quarry and shale pit.

About 80 people from Maryland State Police, Natural Resources Police and the Maryland Transportation Authority Police — including a state evidence collection team — did a slow, methodical search Thursday morning, finding Argote's body, Albert said in an interview after the news conference.

The sheriff's office previously announced that a search of the old tannery and Cushwa Brick properties had wrapped up early Sunday afternoon after Argote's Mercedes SUV was found in a wooded area off Bottom Road north of Williamsport on Saturday morning.

Albert said Thursday that searching the area had continued and happened in some capacity each day, including using cadaver dogs. Though those dogs were used in the lower area by the Potomac River and not where Argote's body was later found — about a mile northwest from where the SUV was found.

Asked which day the cadaver dogs were out there, Albert told The Herald-Mail he could not immediately pinpoint the day, noting the days were bleeding into each other with the ongoing search since Wilkinson's murder almost a full week ago.

Talking Thursday afternoon at a new conference after Argote's body was found, Albert said authorities had searched that area "hastily," but returned Thursday to do a more systematic search.

State police offered their help Wednesday for a more systematic search, leading to the search Thursday when Argote was found, Albert said.

"The Washington County community can breathe a little easier this afternoon," Albert said near the start of the news conference Thursday at the Washington County Administrative Building.

Maryland Judiciary makes statement on finding of Argote's body

The court system of Maryland made the following statement in response to the news that the body of the suspect in the murder of a Washington County judge had been found:

"The Maryland Judiciary appreciates the combined efforts of the local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies who have been working tirelessly to protect Judiciary personnel and to bring a conclusion to the search for the suspect in the shooting of Judge Andrew Wilkinson.

"We continue to grieve the loss of our colleague and friend while supporting the Wilkinson family, the judges and staff of the Circuit Court for Washington County, and the entire Hagerstown and broader Washington County community.

"Out of respect to the Wilkinson family, please continue to accommodate their request for privacy during these difficult times."

Argote's body reported found near Williamsport

Authorities have found the remains of Pedro Argote, the fugitive Maryland man wanted in the Oct. 19 killing of a Washington County Circuit Court judge.

The Washington County Sheriff's Office posted on Facebook shortly after 12:30 p.m. Thursday that authorities found a deceased person around 11 a.m. Thursday about a mile northwest of where Argote's Mercedes SUV was found Saturday.

That person has been positively identified as Pedro Argote, the post states.

His body was found in a "heavily wooded area between Clear Spring Road and Bottom Road," the post reads.

That area is northwest of Williamsport.

Pedro Manuel Argote, 49, of Frederick, Md., had been wanted for the Oct. 19 shooting death of Circuit Court Judge Andrew F. Wilkinson, who was found shot in his driveway north of Hagerstown. The judge was taken to Meritus Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.

Argote's silver Mercedes SUV was found Saturday morning on property of the former GST AutoLeather tannery just outside Williamsport. Tactical teams searched the area that day, wrapping up their search early Sunday afternoon.

At that time, the sheriff's office posted on Facebook that, "No further information indicates that Argote is still in the immediate area."

Shortly after 8 a.m. Thursday, the day Argote's body was found, the sheriff's office posted on Facebook that evidentiary searches were being done in the Williamsport area so there was an increased police presence, but that there was no safety concern.

A news conference was planned for Thursday afternoon.

Wilkinson's family is receiving friends at a Hagerstown-area funeral home Thursday afternoon, with the funeral planned for Friday morning at St. Ann Catholic Church.

Background on case

Sheriff Brian Albert, during an Oct. 20 news conference, confirmed that authorities believe Wilkinson was targeted by Argote because Wilkinson ruled earlier that day in a divorce hearing that the mother should have custody of their minor children.

Argote was not at the Oct. 19 hearing in circuit court in downtown Hagerstown, Albert said.

That hearing was the only matter listed for Wilkinson on the court docket that day.

Wilkinson signed an order Thursday saying there was to be no visitation or contact between Pedro Argote and his children, according to the partial judgment in the divorce case. There also was to be no contact between Argote and the children's mother.

Before the shooting: MD judge heard 'shocking' evidence in divorce case hours before his killing, tapes show

The judgment also states the mother was to have "sole use and possession of the family home," property west of Hagerstown, and that Argote was not to enter that property.

Wilkinson was gunned down around 8 p.m. Oct. 19 in his driveway in the 19100 block of Olde Waterford Road north of Hagerstown.

Local, regional and federal authorities, including Maryland State Police, Hagerstown Police, US Marshals, Frederick Police and the Frederick County Sheriff's Department, have been assisting in the investigation and search for Argote.

Argote had been living with his family west of Hagerstown, but changed his address twice earlier this year, according to court filings. First he filed a change of address for Martinsburg and then to Frederick, Md.

What we know about fugitive Pedro Argote

In addition to the divorce case in Washington County, there also was a temporary protective order issued against Pedro Argote in June 2022 through Washington County District Court in which a judge ordered Argote not to abuse, threaten to abuse, contact or attempt to contact his wife and four children, according to court records.

More on Argote's history: Police on the hunt for man after Maryland judge killed in his driveway

According to the docket for the domestic violence case, that case was dismissed around the time the temporary protective order expired, at the request of the petitioner. The petitioner was Argote's wife.

"We have responded for verbal domestic assault two times in the last two years," but authorities were not aware of any prior criminal record in Washington County, Albert said at the news conference.

Argote legally owns a handgun, though Albert did not get into what the suspected firearm was in the shooting.

Who was Andrew Wilkinson?

Wilkinson, 52, was a husband and father.

Wilkinson was sworn in as a circuit court judge on Jan. 10, 2020, after being appointed by then Gov. Larry Hogan.

A 1994 graduate of the University of North Carolina, he received his law degree in 1997 from Emory University School of Law and had experience in all levels of Maryland courts from district to the Court of Appeals. His legal experience included real estate, zoning and family law as well as civil litigation.

Before taking the bench, Wilkinson had a solo practice. Prior to that he worked in private practice with land-use attorney Jason Divelbiss.

Judge Wilkinson's funeral: Expect traffic delays Friday on Oak Hill Avenue for judge's funeral

Wilkinson served as an assistant county attorney under then-County Attorney John Martirano from 2006 to 2012.

After law school, Wilkinson became a law clerk at the local circuit court for Judge Frederick C. Wright III and Judges John H. McDowell, W. Kennedy Boone, and Donald E. Beachley.

Asked after his investiture ceremony about becoming a judge in his hometown, Wilkinson said, “It’s an honor and it’s humbling, and I’m happy to serve.”

Wilkinson said he wanted to become a judge to serve the community.

He was one of six current circuit court judges in Washington County.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail: Sheriff mum on death of suspect in slaying of Judge Wilkinson