Attorney killed at Baltimore County home; son-in-law held without bail

A personal injury attorney was killed in Phoenix, and his son-in-law was jailed after what Baltimore County Police described as a confrontation over domestic issues.

Robert MacMeekin, 74, was found fatally shot Saturday afternoon at his home on the 14000 block of Sawmill Court, police said. Detectives wrote in charging documents that MacMeekin’s son-in-law, 41-year-old Mark Thomas Ryan, confessed to killing the attorney because he was “angry [his father-in-law] was keeping his children from him” and about a protective order his wife had obtained the day before.

Ryan faces a first-degree murder charge, as well as a misdemeanor firearm offense. He was ordered held without bail following a Monday hearing in Towson, where his defense attorney, Richard M. Karceski of Silverman Thompson, suggested that MacMeekin initiated the struggle by reaching for the gun.

MacMeekin practiced at Timonium personal injury firm Fine, Kelly & MacMeekin P.A. He received his Bachelor of Arts from Michigan State University in 1973 and a Juris Doctor from the University of Baltimore School of Law in 1975. He was admitted to the Maryland bar in 1976.

The firm said in a statement Monday that it was “devastated” by MacMeekin’s death, calling the attorney “an integral part” of the firm and the Maryland legal community. 

“As a legal advocate, Bob worked tirelessly to advance the needs of the clients he served,” the firm said. “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.”  

The firm said it would honor MacMeekin’s memory by representing 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,” the firm said.

Ryan appeared in Baltimore County District Court on Monday afternoon via teleconference, wearing an orange jumpsuit. 

Detectives wrote in charging documents that Ryan’s wife, who is MacMeekin’s daughter, had fled her home in Bel Air on Friday after Ryan struck her and suggested that he would retrieve a firearm. She fled to her parents’ house in Phoenix, where her children were staying, and obtained a temporary protective order against Ryan on Saturday morning. 

In the protective order petition, MacMeekin’s daughter wrote that Ryan had said he would “handle this a different way” and went toward the gun safe. As she headed out, he said that she was “lucky I cannot find the key,” she wrote.

Karceski said during Monday’s hearing that Ryan denied hitting his wife during the Friday encounter, saying that he was in an argument with his wife and “told her to leave.”

Ryan called his wife throughout Saturday, and the final time, she passed the phone to her father, according to charging documents. Ryan was inquiring about his children, and MacMeekin said he “was going to keep the kids through the weekend,” also noting that Ryan was going to be served with the protective order, charging documents say. 

Karceski said in court that MacMeekin was “very nasty” during the call and did not specifically mention that the paperwork was a protective order. He also noted that the protective order was dismissed Monday morning.

After the call, Ryan drove to MacMeekin’s home and confronted the attorney on the patio, pulling a handgun out of his pocket and pointing it at MacMeekin, according to charging documents. A struggle ensued, and Ryan fired multiple shots, killing MacMeekin, police wrote. Ryan sat down at the patio until he was taken into custody, according to police.

Karceski disputed the police account of MacMeekin’s final moments, saying that his client had brought the gun because his wife and MacMeekin are also gun owners, and that MacMeekin had reached for Ryan’s, initiating the struggle.

The defense attorney said he wasn’t sure who ultimately filed the shots but that after the final shot struck MacMeekin, Ryan “tossed [the gun] to the side” and waited for police. He noted that his client had bruises on his arms from the struggle.

District Judge Lisa A. Phelps ordered Ryan held without bail. She said there were “clearly” two different versions of the facts but noted that she was concerned about the level of violence alleged as well as “the safety of all the members of this family.”

This story has been updated with information from the hearing, charging documents and the protective order, as well as the law firm’s statement.

Kendyl Kearly contributed to this article.