The Annapolis man who was charged in the June 29 killing of a Naval Academy mom was wanted by police after they say he cut off an ankle bracelet and fled home confinement in May.
The 29-year-old was charged Wednesday with first and second-degree murder and other offenses in the fatal shooting of Michelle Cummings, 57, according to Annapolis police.
Cummings was struck by a stray bullet while sitting at a patio area outside the Graduate Hotel in Annapolis early in the morning of June 29, police said. Cummings and her husband Leonard “Truck” Cummings, both of Houston, were visiting Annapolis to drop off their son, Leonard “Trey” Cummings III, at the Naval Academy for Induction Day.
“What should have been a fantastic celebratory time for their family just turned into the worst due to somebody else’s recklessness,” Chief Ed Jackson said at a news conference Wednesday. “I gave my word as the chief of police that we would do everything we could to arrest the person responsible for the tragic death of Ms. Cummings. That promise was kept today.”
Angelo Reno Harrod was identified as the primary suspect after investigators reviewed video and photographic evidence from the crime scene, Jackson said. He declined to provide detail on what the evidence was.
A gun has not been recovered and police have not given a motive for the shooting.
On June 29, police were called to the West Street hotel around 12:21 a.m. after shots were reported fired in the nearby area of Pleasant Street. Cummings was not the intended target and was struck when a bullet passed over a brick wall at the edge of the property, police said.
An autopsy report showed Cummings was struck one time, Jackson said. Cummings is the third homicide victim in Annapolis this year.
Jackson noted there were two other victims in the case who were sitting in a parked car and were the intended target of the gunfire. As a result, Harrod has been charged with two counts of attempted first- and second-degree murder.
Annapolis patrol officers arrested Harrod around 10 p.m. in a gas station parking lot at the intersection of Forest Drive and Tyler Avenue after they ran a “routine” warrant check on him and found he had two outstanding warrants, according to a police report of the incident.
When an officer approached Harrod in the gas station’s store, he pushed the officer, ran outside and was chased by other officers on foot before twisting his ankle.
He was unarmed at the time, Jackson said.
In addition to murder, attempted murder, manslaughter and firearms charges, Harrod was charged with assaulting an officer, resisting arrest and other charges in that incident, online court records show.
He is being held at the Jennifer Road Detention Center without bond. He is being represented by the Glen Burnie Public Defenders Office. The office couldn’t be reached Wednesday afternoon. He will have a bail review hearing Thursday.
“My family and I are elated that an arrest has been made in the senseless murder of my beloved wife, Michelle Cummings,” Truck Cummings said in a statement. “We hope and pray that this arrest will start the healing process by providing answers to the many questions that my family has about the circumstances surrounding her senseless death.”
According to court documents, Harrod was released on house arrest to his mother’s home April 13 following two separate incidents. On Feb. 10, he was charged with assault and firearm possession, and, on April 12, he was charged with firearm and drug possession.
County prosecutors had asked that Harrod be held without bond, but the court placed him on house arrest instead, said Tia Lewis, a spokesperson with the Anne Arundel State’s Attorney’s Office.
On May 3, Harrod cut off the ankle bracelet and fled, police said. A house arrest case manager had told Harrod to return to detention facilities that day because he “did not have a viable home plan,” according to police charging documents. He has been charged with escape in the second degree.
Police were searching for him and a warrant had been issued for his arrest, before he was apprehended on June 29.
Online court records show Harrod was charged in previous criminal cases.
In 2016, Harrod, then 24, pleaded guilty to illegally possessing a handgun. He is prohibited from possessing a firearm, city police said at the time. In 2013, Harrod was convicted in separate cases for possession of a handgun in a vehicle and conspiracy to commit robbery in county Circuit Court, according to electronic court records.
Officials had offered $67,000 in reward money for information that would lead to an arrest in the Michelle Cummings case.
The investigation is still ongoing, Jackson said.
He said police have received information on the case that is “being evaluated,” but he declined to say what the information was or how much of the reward money might be given out.
It seems like every one of these dirtbags has a prior criminal history and should have been in prison.
The 29-year-old was charged Wednesday with first and second-degree murder and other offenses in the fatal shooting of Michelle Cummings, 57, according to Annapolis police.
Cummings was struck by a stray bullet while sitting at a patio area outside the Graduate Hotel in Annapolis early in the morning of June 29, police said. Cummings and her husband Leonard “Truck” Cummings, both of Houston, were visiting Annapolis to drop off their son, Leonard “Trey” Cummings III, at the Naval Academy for Induction Day.
“What should have been a fantastic celebratory time for their family just turned into the worst due to somebody else’s recklessness,” Chief Ed Jackson said at a news conference Wednesday. “I gave my word as the chief of police that we would do everything we could to arrest the person responsible for the tragic death of Ms. Cummings. That promise was kept today.”
Angelo Reno Harrod was identified as the primary suspect after investigators reviewed video and photographic evidence from the crime scene, Jackson said. He declined to provide detail on what the evidence was.
A gun has not been recovered and police have not given a motive for the shooting.
On June 29, police were called to the West Street hotel around 12:21 a.m. after shots were reported fired in the nearby area of Pleasant Street. Cummings was not the intended target and was struck when a bullet passed over a brick wall at the edge of the property, police said.
An autopsy report showed Cummings was struck one time, Jackson said. Cummings is the third homicide victim in Annapolis this year.
Jackson noted there were two other victims in the case who were sitting in a parked car and were the intended target of the gunfire. As a result, Harrod has been charged with two counts of attempted first- and second-degree murder.
Annapolis patrol officers arrested Harrod around 10 p.m. in a gas station parking lot at the intersection of Forest Drive and Tyler Avenue after they ran a “routine” warrant check on him and found he had two outstanding warrants, according to a police report of the incident.
When an officer approached Harrod in the gas station’s store, he pushed the officer, ran outside and was chased by other officers on foot before twisting his ankle.
He was unarmed at the time, Jackson said.
In addition to murder, attempted murder, manslaughter and firearms charges, Harrod was charged with assaulting an officer, resisting arrest and other charges in that incident, online court records show.
He is being held at the Jennifer Road Detention Center without bond. He is being represented by the Glen Burnie Public Defenders Office. The office couldn’t be reached Wednesday afternoon. He will have a bail review hearing Thursday.
“My family and I are elated that an arrest has been made in the senseless murder of my beloved wife, Michelle Cummings,” Truck Cummings said in a statement. “We hope and pray that this arrest will start the healing process by providing answers to the many questions that my family has about the circumstances surrounding her senseless death.”
According to court documents, Harrod was released on house arrest to his mother’s home April 13 following two separate incidents. On Feb. 10, he was charged with assault and firearm possession, and, on April 12, he was charged with firearm and drug possession.
County prosecutors had asked that Harrod be held without bond, but the court placed him on house arrest instead, said Tia Lewis, a spokesperson with the Anne Arundel State’s Attorney’s Office.
On May 3, Harrod cut off the ankle bracelet and fled, police said. A house arrest case manager had told Harrod to return to detention facilities that day because he “did not have a viable home plan,” according to police charging documents. He has been charged with escape in the second degree.
Police were searching for him and a warrant had been issued for his arrest, before he was apprehended on June 29.
Online court records show Harrod was charged in previous criminal cases.
In 2016, Harrod, then 24, pleaded guilty to illegally possessing a handgun. He is prohibited from possessing a firearm, city police said at the time. In 2013, Harrod was convicted in separate cases for possession of a handgun in a vehicle and conspiracy to commit robbery in county Circuit Court, according to electronic court records.
Officials had offered $67,000 in reward money for information that would lead to an arrest in the Michelle Cummings case.
The investigation is still ongoing, Jackson said.
He said police have received information on the case that is “being evaluated,” but he declined to say what the information was or how much of the reward money might be given out.
It seems like every one of these dirtbags has a prior criminal history and should have been in prison.
