A former top aide to former Maryland governor Larry Hogan died in a confrontation with the FBI on Monday at the conclusion of a 21-day manhunt in search of the former aide, Roy McGrath, after he failed to appear in federal court.
The FBI said Monday that it was “reviewing an agent-involved shooting” that occurred at approximately 6:30 p.m. in the area of Knoxville, Tenn.
“During the arrest the subject, Roy McGrath, sustained injury and was transported to the hospital. The FBI takes all shooting incidents involving our agents or task force members seriously,” the bureau said in a statement.
An attorney for McGrath, who was facing wire fraud and embezzlement charges related to his time as the head of the Maryland Environmental Service (MES), confirmed to the Washington Post that his client had died. The attorney, Joseph Murtha, said he wasn’t sure how McGrath died. “I haven’t gotten any information on whether Roy died from gunfire from an agent or whether it was a self-inflicted wound.”
“The loss of Roy’s life is an absolute tragedy, and I think it’s important for me to say that Roy never wavered about his innocence,” Murtha said.
Hogan responded to the news in a statement on Monday, saying “Yumi and I are deeply saddened by this tragic situation. We are praying for Mr. McGrath’s family and loved ones.”
McGrath was indicted in 2021, with prosecutors claiming he had misled officials to receive a nearly quarter-million-dollar severance package when he left his role as MES executive director to become Hogan’s chief of staff. McGrath allegedly used his “positions of trust” as executive director and Hogan’s chief of staff to get MES to pay the severance and other expenses. He also allegedly falsified time sheets, clocking into work while he took two vacations.
McGrath had claimed that Hogan approved the severance, though the former governor has denied knowledge of it. Prosecutors allege McGrath falsified a memo claiming the governor approved the package.
“I know you did nothing wrong. I know it is unfair. I will stand with you,” Hogan wrote to McGrath sometime after the severance news came to light. However, the then-governor’s office maintained Hogan sent the message before learning more about how the severance was obtained.
McGrath’s trial was set to begin on March 13. Murtha said he had last spoken with his client on the phone one day before that. The pair had planned to meet outside the courtroom the next morning, but McGrath vanished.
McGrath was also facing state charges of theft and misconduct in office. He was also accused of violating state wiretap laws by recording private calls with Hogan and other officials without permission.
McGrath had moved to Florida while under investigation. It was unclear why he was in Knoxville at the time of the confrontation with the FBI, the Washington Post reported.