Harrisburg District Judge Sonya McKnight has been cleared in the shooting of her estranged husband nearly three months ago, PennLive has learned.

McKnight went on voluntary paid leave after the May 10 incident at her home, which left Enoch McKnight with a gunshot wound to his groin. He recovered from his injuries and returned to work in June. Sonya McKnight returned to the bench in June after her paid leave ended at the end of May, court officials said, while the investigation into the shooting continued.

The Dauphin County District Attorney’s office turned over the investigation to the Attorney General’s office to avoid any potential conflicts of interest since Sonya McKnight presided over cases presented by Dauphin County prosecutors.

After reviewing the case, the Attorney General’s office recently declined to file criminal charges against Sonya McKnight for the shooting, citing self-defense.

“We can confirm the investigation is closed and no charges have been filed ,” said Jacklin Rhoads, an office spokeswoman. “The Office of Attorney General completed a careful review of the evidence in this case including but not limited to interviewing all witnesses, analyzing phone data and records, reviewing crime scene evidence as well as surveillance and reenactment videos. We found that Ms. McKnight acted in self-defense which is why our office did not file charges.”

Sonya and her estranged husband married in 2014 but had been living apart for the last year or so, according to his relatives. She filed for divorce in 2016, but the divorce was not finalized.

Enoch McKnight visited Sonya McKnight’s house the morning of May 10 at her request to help move furniture, his relatives said.

Enoch McKnight’s sister, Olga Foxworth, of North Carolina, said Enoch told her that he had successfully moved one chair to a neighbor’s house, then was carrying another chair when he was shot in the hand and groin and accused of being a “cheater.”

A neighbor apparently called 911, according to dispatch records. Enoch later showed up at a hospital.

Police interviewed Sonya McKnight after the shooting and detectives interviewed Enoch McKnight over that weekend, after he recovered from surgery to be able to speak with detectives. They gave differing accounts of what happened inside her home in the 2700 block of Lexington Street, according to investigators.

Sonya McKnight did not return a phone call left at her office Friday. Enoch could not be immediately reached.

Sonya had filed for a protection from abuse order in October, but the order had been changed on April 18 to allow for peaceful contact, according to civil records filed at the prothonotary’s office.

That meant it was not a violation for Enoch to be at the home on May 10, but it could have been a violation if he took some overt action inside the house. That’s part of what investigators were reviewing.

In the end, no violations or charges were filed against Enoch McKnight for any alleged actions inside the house.

The shooting in May capped a series of domestic disputes dating back to at least October.

In October, Sonya McKnight reported an assault at their home when she drove his car away from the home. She told police she was going to the store and he tried to pull her from the car, and violently pry her hands off the steering wheel. She crashed the car into a fire hydrant, and reported injuries to her hands and arms, according to court records.

But Foxworth said Enoch was preparing to leave town that day to go to North Carolina and Sonya didn’t want him to go. Foxworth said she was on the phone with her brother during the dispute and that Sonya got into Enoch’s car to prevent him from leaving.

Harrisburg police filed charges of simple assault, recklessly endangering another person and criminal mischief against Enoch McKnight. The case was handled by a judge from outside of Dauphin County to avoid any conflicts of interest since Sonya McKnight works in the court system.

After that, Sonya McKnight sought a protection from abuse order that prevented all contact by Enoch McKnight.

She reported him for violating the order in November, saying he had called her 23 times.

On December 3, the PFA was altered to allow “peaceful contact” between the couple.

On March 2, Sonya McKnight drove to Enoch’s new home in Newville, Pa., to “collect life insurance money,” according to court records. She could not find him at home, so she left, according to the records. But she later reported that he made threatening phone calls to her about not coming to his home, the records said.

Enoch McKnight was arrested again for violating the terms of the PFA.

Later in March, Enoch McKnight filed a petition asking for economic relief and an equitable distribution of property from their marriage, stemming from the 2016 pending divorce case.

On April 3, the order was adjusted back to its original state, prohibiting all contact by Enoch.

About two weeks later, the order was again changed to allow peaceful contact.

Sonya McKnight was elected in 2015. She defeated a sitting district judge, Robert Jennings III, in the 2015 primary and captured the seat in the general election. Jennings sought re-election even while he was under investigation for misconduct; he later pleaded no contest to charges that he strong-armed constables for campaign cash.

Enoch McKnight’s previous criminal record includes three larceny convictions in North Carolina in the 1990s and two armed robbery convictions from York County, in 1999 and 2004. He was paroled in April 2014 and remained under supervision until Dec. 28, 2017.

Editor’s Note: This article was updated with additional comments from the Attorney General’s spokesman and to clarify that Sonya McKnight returned to the bench in June.

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