Fugitive Roy McGrath, ex-chief of staff to Maryland governor, captured in Tennessee

Roy McGrath, the former chief of staff to ex-Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan who became a fugitive after failing to appear at trial on wire fraud and embezzlement charges last month, was captured in Tennessee on Monday, law enforcement sources confirmed to CBS News.

McGrath was located by the FBI in a car in Knoxville around 6:30 p.m. local time. During the arrest, an “agent-involved shooting” occurred, the FBI said in a statement.

“The subject, Roy McGrath, sustained injury and was transported to the hospital,” the FBI said. McGrath’s condition was not immediately clear.

A federal manhunt had been underway since McGrath failed to appear in federal court in Baltimore, Maryland, on March 13. A warrant was issued for his arrest, and the FBI soon searched his house in Naples, Florida, and interviewed his relatives.

McGrath was set to be tried on federal charges stemming from his time running the Maryland Environmental Service, a quasi-governmental state agency that provides services like wastewater management, composting and recycling. Prosecutors said McGrath fraudulently obtained a severance payment of $233,647 when he left to take the job as Hogan’s chief of staff in 2020, and falsified a document purporting to show the governor had approved of the payment. He was also accused of falsifying time sheets while vacationing in Europe and stealing money for tuition for classes at Harvard.

McGrath was initially indicted on federal charges in October 2021 and pleaded not guilty. He faced a maximum sentence of more than 100 years in prison if convicted on all counts.

The FBI and U.S. Marshals Service each offered a $10,000 reward for information leading to his arrest. 

—Matt Mosk and Rob Legare and Pat Milton