Search Continues for Suspected Killer of Maryland Judge

Facts

• Authorities on Monday were still searching for Pedro Manuel Argote, who is suspected of shooting and killing Maryland Circuit Court Judge Andrew Wilkinson last Thursday outside the judge’s home in north central Maryland.¹
• The Washington County Sheriff's Office said over the weekend that it found Argote's suspected silver Mercedes SUV in a wooded area in Williamsport, approximately eight miles from where the judge was shot in Hagerstown.²
• The US Marshals Service has offered a $10K reward for information that could lead to Argote's arrest.³
• Wilkinson's death came the same day he ruled during a divorce hearing. The hearing granted sole custody of Argote's four children to his wife based on Wilkinson's 'cruelty of treatment' of her.⁴
• Previously, Argote’s wife had filed a domestic violence report against him in June 2022. However, the petition — which said she felt unsafe — was dismissed at a hearing less than two weeks later.⁴
• According to the sheriff’s office, Argote doesn’t have a criminal record but his home had been visited by law enforcement because of domestic incident allegations.⁵

Sources: ¹Forbes, ²CBS, ³Associated Press, ⁴Insider and ⁵BBC News.

Narratives

• Right narrative, as provided by Breitbart. This is yet another example of how laws imposed by Democrats to limit the Second Amendment rights of citizens don't work. Maryland, which has a Democratic governor, has bans on so-called assault weapons, high-capacity magazines, and other gun-control measures, yet this tragedy still took place. This is another case of a criminal committing heinous crimes, not the gun itself being evil.
• Democratic narrative, as provided by NBC. The odds of a tragedy of this magnitude happening would have been greatly reduced had there been more stringent restrictions on access to firearms. Argote's wife cited his weapons among the reasons she felt threatened by him, and there was a history of him being abusive. Expanded gun laws would keep people like Argote from being armed, but the GOP is resisting these common-sense measures.

Predictions