Roy McGrath never planned to show for Baltimore trial, FBI documents suggest
BALTIMORE -- An FBI search warrant suggests Roy McGrath never planned to return to Baltimore to stand trial.
The unsealed search warrant revealed McGrath never bought a plane ticket and made no reservations to fly from Florida to Baltimore for this court appearance on March 13.
McGrath, ex-Chief of Staff to former Gov. Larry Hogan, was facing a maximum of 100 years in federal prison for charges of illegally recording Hogan and stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from the state government.
He skipped out on his trial in Baltimore in March and was considered to be a fugitive by the U.S. Marshals. The FBI searched his home in Florida and offered a $20,000 reward.
What followed was a three-week manhunt that ended with McGrath's death in Tennessee. He was killed in a shooting in an encounter with FBI agents two weeks ago, but it remains unclear whether he shot himself or was shot by law enforcement.
During the three weeks he was on the run, two books outlining McGrath's case, from his perspective, were published on Amazon.
Joseph Murtha, McGrath's attorney, said his client never wavered in his innocence.
