PHOENIX (WBFF) — A lawyer was killed on Saturday afternoon in Phoenix while trying to protect his grandchildren from their father, according to Baltimore County Police.
Mark Ryan, 41, was arrested and charged with first-degree murder and a gun offense after his father-in-law, personal injury attorney Robert MacMeekin, was found dead on his back patio.
On Monday, a Baltimore County Courthouse judge denied Ryan bond, agreeing with the prosecution he could be a threat to the victim’s family, the public, and a possible flight risk.
FOX45 asked whether Ryan expressed any regret about shooting his father-in-law. Ryan’s defense attorney, Richard Karceski from Silver Thompson, responded, “Well, he regrets what happened to his father-in-law,” he said. “But you know, the words ‘murder’ and ‘shooting,’ they can take on different meanings in this particular case, and I think there are two sides to whatever the meaning of the words would be.”
The prosecution told the courtroom, MacMeekin’s life was “taken away from his family for nothing.”
On May 2, around 2:20 p.m., Baltimore County Police said they responded to a report of a shooting in the 14000 block of Sawmill Court.
Upon arrival, they found the 74-year-old MacMeekin suffering from multiple gunshot wounds on the back patio. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
According to the prosecution, Ryan’s wife, her mother, and their two children ages 2 and 6 years old were all present in the home during the shooting.
Ryan’s wife, and her mother were witnesses to the shooting according to court records. They told police Ryan had dropped the gun after the shooting and “just sat in a chair” until police arrived.
Ryan was taken into custody without incident.
MacMeekin’s daughter, who is also Ryan’s wife, said she and her father had gone to the Harford County Sheriff’s Department after a domestic dispute on Friday to seek a temporary protective order against Ryan.
Authorities said that during that incident, Ryan had hit his wife and threatened to pull a gun out from his safe.
Ryan’s wife responded by taking their children from their home in Bel Air to MacMeekin’s home in Phoenix.
According to the charging papers, on May 2, MacMeekin spoke to Ryan on the phone, and told him that the children would be staying with him over the weekend, and that Ryan would be served with a protective order and that he would need to attend a court hearing on Monday.
However, after the call, police said that Ryan confronted MacMeekin on the back patio and pulled out a gun.
Authorities said a struggle took place, and police said it ended with Ryan firing “several rounds” at MacMeekin, killing him.
Ryan agreed to speak to officials without an attorney and “confessed to shooting and killing” MacMeekin because “he was angry that he was keeping his children from him.”
Ryan also denied harming his wife.
Ryan’s attorney is claiming his client is not violent, has no prior record, and that he brought a gun to the MacMeekin’s house for his own protection in fear his wife and father-in-law may have their own weapons.
“Nothing was intentional here on the part of Mr. Ryan,” Attorney Karceski said. “It’s an unfortunate situation. Could it have been avoided? certainly.”
Karceski told the media after the hearing that the protective order expired on Monday and pointed out that the victim (Ryan’s wife) never appeared in court.
“The wife didn’t show up at court, which is a very telling blow in my opinion,” Karceski said. “If all of this happened to her, why wouldn’t she go and continue to protect the order?”
Karceski also says Ryan brought a gun to the household, but it was MacMeekin who reached for the weapon.
“This was a struggle. It was a struggle for a gun,” Karceski said. “It was initiated by Mr. MacMeekin.”
During the struggle, three shots were fired, Karceski says the last one struck MacMeekin. The prosecution says he was shot in his neck.
Karceski says the fight on Friday stemmed from a possible outer relationship the wife was having with another person.
The law office of Fine, Kelly & MacMeekin released the following statement on MacMeekin’s passing:
We are devastated by the news of the tragic passing of our friend and colleague, Robert MacMeekin.
Bob has been an integral part of this Law Firm and the Maryland legal community since 1976.
As a legal advocate, Bob worked tirelessly to advance the needs of the clients he served. As a result, he earned the trust and respect of not only his clients, but also the legal professionals he came into contact with within the community.
We will be forever grateful to have worked alongside such an energetic, humble and determined advocate.
To honor Bob’s memory we will continue to represent our clients with the same personalized attention and integrity that were his hallmark and will be his legacy, just as he would have wanted.
Our thoughts and prayers are with his loving family for whom he was always protective and completely devoted.
