Trial in mom’s shooting proceeds
Prosecutors use video footage to try to pin Annapolis man as gunman
In the second week of a murder trial in the 2021 shooting death of Michelle Cummings, the mother of a U.S. Naval Academy midshipman, prosecutors sought to place the defendant at the scene of the crime, hitting a few roadblocks on their way through the complex case.
Prosecutors called police and occasionally uncooperative civilian witnesses this week as they neared the conclusion of their portion of the murder case against Angelo Harrod, 31. Police say he was involved in a June 29, 2021, shooting on Pleasant Street in which a stray bullet struck Cummings, a 57-year-old Houston resident visiting Annapolis while she dropped off her son, Trey Cummings, at the U.S. Naval Academy for Induction Day.
On Wednesday, Assistant State’s Attorneys Carolynn Grammas and Jason Steinhardt showed jurors a 38-minute video of city, county and private surveillance footage compiled by prosecutors and police who traced the movements of the men who they believe fired the fatal shots.
Defense attorney Howard Cardin told jurors during his opening statement that the video was specifically edited to point toward Harrod’s guilt. Prosecutors aimed to counter that argument Wednesday by frequently pausing the video and asking Annapolis Det. Aaron Stein, the case’s lead investigator, to explain the movements as well as the cameras used in the compilation.
Throughout the trial, police testified that they followed the movements of two men who they believe fired at Breonna Barnes and R.J. Atwell as they sat in a vehicle on Pleasant Street that night. Barnes testified last week she had been dating Atwell for about a week and they were spending time together that evening. After parking her car at the end of Pleasant Street after midnight, she stepped out of the Chevrolet Trailblazer to take a phone call from her ex-boyfriend. She heard someone call her name and count down from five, before two men fired several rounds at the vehicle.
Police identified one of the men as Harrod, noting they were able to follow his movements due to a distinct design on his sweatshirt throughout the footage. Prosecutors have not named the other man seen shooting. Only the crown of his head was visible in footage from the shooting, which was shown to jurors on Wednesday.
An identical sweatshirt was recovered from a Robinwood address where investigators believe Harrod was staying at the time of the shooting. Forensic experts testified Monday that the sweatshirt contained Harrod’s DNA, and tested positive for gunshot residue.
Later, a man walked into the Anne Arundel County Circuit courtroom
gallery wearing a sweatshirt with the same design, which prompted Cardin to reveal a part of his defense strategy, after he was asked by Anne Arundel Circuit Judge Pamela Alban if he planned to call the man as a witness. Cardin said he planned to highlight that the “KEY2S.U.C.C.E.S.S.” sweatshirts are common in the Annapolis area, but would not be calling the man, as he had been in court for several days of testimony.
“It is a local brand that is distributed in the Annapolis area,” Cardin told Alban, noting that an investigator from his law office was looking into the matter.
Alban ordered that the man not wear the sweatshirt in the courtroom gallery. Later, Cardin introduced a similar sweatshirt as evidence.
The discussion over the sweatshirt Tuesday morning came amid a testy round of questioning, when a witness called by Grammas and Steinhardt, Hiedea Johnson, gave hostile responses to prosecutors’ questions. Johnson, who lives on Pleasant Street, testified that she gave her cellphone to “a man” the night of the shooting, later identifying him as “Lo,” the man in the defendant’s seat, but refusing to point to Harrod.
Johnson claimed she was “badgered” by police and prosecutors to disclose the identity of the man and had her arrested following a grand jury session where she refused to answer questions.
Grammas played audio from her interview with prosecutors in 2021. Alban told jurors to consider the audio for impeachment, the process of evaluating Johnson’s credibility. In the audio, she told prosecutors she was answering questions freely and voluntarily. Prosecutors noted that Johnson’s attorney was in the room the whole time, and available for consultation.
Other police officers testifying this week identified Harrod as the man seen on video wearing the sweatshirt, citing their knowledge of the Clay Street area.
Annapolis Police Sgt. Joseph Mann was the first to identify the shooter as Harrod, testifying Tuesday that he recognized him from a photo on an internal police department bulletin hours after the shooting, and later identified him in a video. He said he was able to identify the man on surveillance footage as Harrod due to his light facial hair and build, as well as the way he walks.
“He walks similarly to myself,” Mann said, later demonstrating for the jury. “I have horrible posture. I walk like I’m uncomfortable all the time.”
Mann was part of the team that surveilled the Robinwood area hours after the shooting and arrested Harrod on open warrants. The group of undercover and uniformed officers convened in the area to look for Harrod after Mann identified him as a suspect in the shooting that killed Cummings.
Stein, the lead investigator, testified Wednesday that he analyzed Barnes’ and Atwell’s cellphones and could not find any threats toward either of them. He also testified that Barnes’ ex-boyfriend, who called her just before the shooting, was not linked to the shooting.
Harrod faces several homicide charges in the shooting. He has been held without bail since being arrested hours after the shooting. Prosecutors have filed a notice that they intend to seek a sentence of life without parole if Harrod is convicted of first-degree murder.
The trial is scheduled to continue Thursday and Friday and last until Dec. 19.
The prosecution is expected to rest its case by the end of the week. Earlier this week, Cardin estimated the defense would take about one day to present its case.