Maryland murder suspect Pedro Argote’s silver Mercedes was found abandoned Saturday morning in the Williamsport area. but the man suspected of gunning down Circuit Court Judge Andrew Wilkinson outside his Hagerstown home is still on the run.
Washington County officials said during a news conference that Argote’s car was found in a remote and wooded area by a resident, who notified police, WTTG reported.
Wilkinson, 52, was fatally shot Thursday night, hours after presiding over Argote’s divorce hearing and awarding custody of four children to his partner, CrimeOnline reported. Argote, 49, did not attend the hearing.
Wilkinson gave the children’s mother sole use and possession of the property and barred Argote from entering. Argote was ordered to pay $1,120 a month child support.
According to The Associated Press, Argote’s divorce has been a messy one. In his initial filing last year, he accused his wife of failing to keep up with the children’s homeschooling or to properly supervise them.
She countersued, accusing Argote of “cruel treatment.” Days after filing her complaint, she asked for a protective order, telling the court he was harassing her via text, controlling her movements, threatening to abuse their daughter, and making false accusations.
“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.”
The judge granted a temporary protective order and ordered Argote to surrender his guns. The wife had the order dismissed weeks later, according to court records.
One of the chief disputes between the couple was Argote’s insistence that they live in the same house while they sort out their business and stabilize finances. But Wilkinson wrote that the idea was “frankly, an 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.”
Wilkinson ordered Argote out of the house that day.
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[Featured image: Pedro Argote/Washington County Sheriff’s Office; Andrew Wilkinson/Washington County Bar Association]
