BALTIMORE — The man convicted of killing a Houston mother during a trip to Maryland in June 2021 will spend the rest of his life behind bars.
Editorial note: The above video is from July 2021 when Angelo Harrod was charged with murder.
Angelo Harrod was given three life sentences for the murder of Michelle Cummings on Friday. One life sentence was without parole for Cummings' murder and the other two are concurrent life sentences for the attempted murder of two other people.
Cummings was killed in a drive-by shooting while sitting outside on a hotel patio, according to Annapolis police. She was not the intended target and was visiting from Houston with her husband to drop off their son at the U.S. Naval Academy.
Cummings' husband, daughter and son were in the courthouse for the emotional day.
"I lost my best friend and my wife," Leonard Cummings Jr. said. The two just celebrated 25 years of marriage when Michelle was murdered. "The punishment will never fit what you've taken from us."
Michelle's daughter, Jordan, said her mother was the glue that held their family together.
"Although I am happy that the judge and the prosecutors did help us get a little bit of closure, we did get justice," Jordan said. "Like I said before, it's not going to bring my mom back."
Harrod also spoke in court, saying that he was sorry, but that he would not shoot anyone he did not know and claimed he is innocent. His mother claimed Harrod had mental health issues. His attorney, Howard Cardin, pushed for a lesser sentence.
"My reaction was, with the record that Mr. Harrod has, that he is in need of help," Cardin said. "And as I indicated, the Patuxent program when it was originally started was geared to that kind of individual."
Harrod has 30 days to appeal. He also has 90 days to request a modification of his sentence.