Roy McGrath — a wanted fugitive and former chief of staff for Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan — was found Monday in Tennessee.
McGrath, 53, was injured by a gunshot around the time of a confrontation with law enforcement. He died later that day, according to his lawyer.
Attorney Joseph Murtha said the FBI confirmed Roy McGrath’s death to him. He added that it was not immediately clear if McGrath’s wound was self-inflicted or came during an exchange of gunfire with agents.
The FBI had said earlier that McGrath, once a top aide to a former Maryland governor, had been hospitalized following an agent-involved shooting, but declined to elaborate.
“Good evening. The FBI has confirmed that Roy has succumbed to his injuries. It is unclear to me at this time if the injury was self-inflicted or was as a result of an exchange of gunfire with the FBI,” Murtha said, according to Fox News Digital. “It is a tragic ending to the past three weeks of uncertainty. I think it is important for me to stress that Roy never wavered about his innocence.”
According to an email earlier from FBI Supervisory Special Agent Shayne Buchwald in Maryland, McGrath was wounded during “an agent-involved shooting” around 6:30 p.m. in a commercial area on the southwestern outskirts of Knoxville, Tennessee. Buchwald said McGrath was taken to a hospital.
Further details, including how McGrath was wounded and what led up to it, were not immediately released. The shooting was under investigation.
“The FBI takes all shooting incidents involving our agents or task force members seriously,” said Buchwald, who declined to confirm that McGrath had died.
In a statement, Hogan said he and his wife, Yumi, “are deeply saddened by this tragic situation. We are praying for Mr. McGrath’s family and loved ones.”
Murtha called the death “a tragic ending to the past three weeks of uncertainty” and said his client always maintained his innocence.
#BREAKING UPDATE: Roy McGrath, ex-chief of staff of Gov. Larry Hogan, was located in Knoxville, Tennessee after a three-week manhunt.
FBI said he was injured after a shooting by a law enforcement agent. https://t.co/5wAsLA4KFq pic.twitter.com/TBCxfAjaue
— WJZ | CBS Baltimore (@wjz) April 4, 2023
McGrath was indicted in 2021 on accusations he fraudulently secured a $233,648 severance payment, equal to one year of salary as the head of Maryland Environmental Service, by falsely telling the agency’s board the governor had approved it. Hogan denied even knowing about the severance payment.
McGrath resigned just 11 weeks into the job as Hogan’s chief of staff in 2020 after the payments became public.
The former chief of staff was also accused of fraud and embezzlement connected to roughly $170,000 in expenses. He pleaded not guilty.
However, McGrath failed to appear at Baltimore’s federal courthouse on March 13. As a result, he was declared a wanted fugitive, and the FBI put out a statement saying that McGrath was considered an international flight risk.
Murtha said he believed McGrath, who had moved to Naples, Florida, was planning to fly to Maryland the night before. Instead of beginning jury selection, a judge issued an arrest warrant and dismissed prospective jurors.
If convicted of the federal charges, he would have faced a maximum sentence of 20 years for each of four counts of wire fraud, plus a maximum of 10 years for each of two counts of embezzling funds from an organization receiving more than $10,000 in federal benefits.
The Horn editorial team and the Associated Press contributed to this article.