ANNPOLIS, Md. (AP) — Authorities in Maryland have charged a 29-year-old Annapolis man in the killing of a U.S. Naval Academy midshipman’s mother.
Annapolis Police Chief Edward Jackson announced Wednesday at a news conference that Angelo Harrod has been charged with first- and second-degree murder, two counts of attempted first-and second-degree murder, involuntary manslaughter, manslaughter, reckless endangerment and weapons offenses. He is being held without bond.
Michelle Cummings, 57, was fatally struck by a stray bullet while sitting on the patio of an Annapolis hotel on June 29, police said. Harrod fired at a couple in a vehicle in a parking lot along a nearby street and a shot went over concrete barrier, striking Cummings, Jackson said. He declined to give details about what led up to the shooting. The weapon has not been found, he said.
It’s not clear whether Harrod has an attorney who could comment for him.
All cases are sad, but Jackson said this one really affected him.
“What should have been just a fantastic celebratory time for their family just turned for the worse due to somebody else’s recklessness,” he said. “Some nights I couldn’t sleep. I felt rage.”
Cummings and her husband were in town from Houston, Texas, for their son’s induction ceremony. Her son, Midshipman Fourth Class Trey Cummings, attended the Naval Academy Preparatory School in Rhode Island and is a football prospect. He attended Induction Day, one day after his mother’s death, and was granted leave to mourn before returning for summer training, Lt. Col. Todd McCarthy, plebe summer officer in charge, told The Capital Gazette.
Harrod was arrested June 29 on an outstanding warrant and identified as a person of interest after investigators viewed video and photographic evidence from the scene, Jackson said. He had been sought by authorities since early May after he fled home detention and cut off his monitoring device, Jackson said.
A $57,000 was being offered for information leading to an arrest in Cummings’ death. Police are evaluating whether it will be disbursed and still want the public to call with information that may strengthen their case, Jackson said.
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