(Reuters) – A fugitive and former top aide to former Maryland Governor Larry Hogan has been killed in Tennessee after a clash with the FBI, the Washington Post reported, citing the former aide’s lawyer.
Roy McGrath, 53, who in 2020 was appointed chief of staff to the former Republican governor, was wanted for failing to appear in court last month on fraud charges.
McGrath pleaded not guilty to wire fraud and record falsification charges in October 2021 and was released on bail, but did not appear in court for his trial.
The US Marshals Service, part of the Justice Department, said last month it had launched an interstate fugitive investigation and posted a “Wanted” poster of McGrath.
“The loss of Roy’s life is an absolute tragedy, and I think it’s important for me to say that Roy never doubted his innocence,” attorney Joseph Murtha said, according to the Post report.
The exact circumstances of Roy’s death remained unclear. The Baltimore Sun said he was shot, but he wasn’t sure if he was self-inflicted or by the FBI.
The FBI said in a statement that it was reviewing an agent-involved shooting, the Post reported.
“During the arrest, the subject, Roy McGrath, sustained injuries and was transported to the hospital. The FBI takes seriously all shooting incidents involving our agents or task force members,” the FBI statement said.
McGrath died at the hospital, the Baltimore Sun reported, citing William Brennan, an attorney for McGrath’s wife.
Hogan, who served as Maryland’s governor from 2015 to 2023, had considered running for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination as a critic of Donald Trump. But Hogan announced last month before McGrath went missing that he wouldn’t be racing.
Hogan said in a statement that he and his wife, Yumi Hogan, were saddened by the “tragic situation,” the Baltimore Sun reported.
“We are praying for Mr. McGrath’s family and loved ones,” Hogan said.
(Reporting by Daniel Trotta; Editing by Edmund Klamann)