Incident Report Raises New Questions Related to Murder of Maryland Judge

On October 19, 2023, Washington County Judge Andrew Wilkinson was tragically shot and killed outside his home, prompting a widespread manhunt for Pedro Argote, identified as the primary suspect. However, a serious inconsistency regarding Argote’s final moments has recently fueled renewed speculation that Argote’s fatal gunshot wound may not have been self-inflicted.

Two days after the shooting, on October 21, a passerby reported spotting the suspect’s vehicle abandoned in a wooded area off Bottom Road in Williamsport, Maryland. Upon inspection, law enforcement confirmed the vehicle belonged to Argote. A 30-round magazine was found inside, but there was no sign of Argote himself. The Washington County Sheriff’s Office and Special Response Team (SRT) launched a thorough search of the surrounding woods and nearby buildings, though initial findings revealed no additional clues regarding Argote’s location.

For several days, search efforts continued without success until October 26, when a Maryland State Police team conducted a systematic grid search of the area. At approximately 11:00 a.m., authorities discovered a body they believed to be Argote’s in a nearby wooded section, just east of the vehicle’s location. Detective Klappert, along with members of the Western Maryland Regional Crime Laboratory and Medical Examiner Melony Higgins, responded to the scene, where they identified the body as Argote. He had an apparent gunshot wound to the head and was found with a Glock handgun by his right side. A “slide bite” injury was also present on Argote’s left hand. Additional magazines were also found on his person.

Following the discovery, the body was transported to Baltimore for a full autopsy. Initial findings confirmed the fatal wound was consistent with a self-inflicted gunshot to the rear lower head, fired from his left hand, with an exit wound on the top right side of his head. The condition of Argote’s body suggested he had been deceased for approximately three days prior to discovery, not the full week since the shooting of Judge Wilkinson.

Forensic analysis linked Argote’s Glock handgun to casings recovered at the scene of Wilkinson’s murder, corroborating his involvement. Additionally, authorities submitted items for DNA testing to further confirm connections to Argote.

While the investigation provided clarity regarding Argote’s actions and confirmed the weapon’s use in the judge’s killing, certain questions remain unresolved.

There is no mention if Argote was wearing gloves in the report or if gloves were found on his person. Were any gloves found at the scene, was Argote wearing them, and if gloves were present what was the result of the gun shot residue test on those gloves?

Were Argote’s bare hands tested for gun shot residue? If so, what were the results? There is no mention if his hands/body were tested for gun shot residue, only his clothing.

But most importantly, if Argote fired the self-inflicted gunshot wound using his left hand, how did the handgun end up on the right side of his body? It is difficult visualizing any circumstance or arm position in which the recoil from a handgun would cause it to travel to the right side of his body instead of left. The location of the handgun indicates either the handgun was moved after Argote fired it, or the wound was potentially not self-inflicted and the handgun placed at that location by an unknown party. Washington County Sheriff’s Office did not indicate that any searcher or law enforcement officer moved the handgun prior to Detective Klappert’s arrival, and the autopsy report indicates the injuries are consistent with a self-inflicted gunshot wound. But the location of the handgun does not match the rest of the evidence as presented in the incident report.

Washington County Sheriff’s Office was contacted for comment on these questions on November 1, 2024, but did not respond as of publication of this article, and we will update this article with any response. Failure to address these questions may continue to raise speculation among some members of the community regarding Argote’s final moments. Nonetheless, the official incident reports still suggest Argote acted alone in the tragic events surrounding Judge Wilkinson’s death.

Hopefully this discrepancy in the incident report will be quickly addressed by the Sheriff’s Office, so that conspiracy theories surrounding this case can be put to rest once and for all.

The full combined incident reports for Wilkinson and Argote are available in our Public Information Archive.

Story by multiple RFHC contributors