Jurors hear arguments, view evidence on fourth day of trial of murdered Naval Academy mother
BALTIMORE - Jurors listened to evidence and arguments Thursday, the fourth day, in the murder trial of Michelle Cummings, a Naval Academy mother who was shot and killed by a stray bullet on June 28, 2021.
Cummings was celebrating her son's induction into the Academy when she was struck by a bullet outside The Graduate Hotel in Annapolis.
The lead prosecutor shared with the court time, stamped images that they believe logged the suspect's movements in the area hours before, and then after the crime.
Prosecutors said there was "a person wearing a black sweatshirt with a distinctive design" and they believe it was Angelo Harrod, who is on trial, charged in Cummings' murder. The sweatshirt is now part of the evidence.
A firearms expert also testified that at least eight cartridge cases were recovered from one of the scenes.
The expert also admitted he had no way of knowing if the cartridge cases were there before or after the shooting.
Evidence photos showed one of the first officers on the scene in the early morning hours of June 28, 2021, used business cards to pinpoint evidence before the yellow evidence markers arrived.
Jurors also saw police body camera video of the moment - nearly 24 hours after the murder - where an officer tried to arrest Harrod after hearing he was in a gas station.
The officer told the court that after coming face-to-face with Harrod, he tried to stall so that backup could arrive. But the suspect pushed past him and took off running, according to police.
Police arrested Harrod after he fell on a path.
At the time of the arrest, the suspect seemed to have a particular concern with police getting access to his phone.
At one point, he yelled to members of the community who'd started to gather.
"Call my girl up here, yo!"
"Call my people, yo!"
During cross-examination, Harrod's lawyer highlighted the fact that the arrest warrant that night wasn't necessarily for murder, but could have been for other misdemeanor warrants under Harrod's name.
The assistant medical examiner who conducted Cummings' autopsy described her fatal wounds.
According to the assistant medical examiner, Cummings was shot once, and the bullet broke a rib, and caused damage to her lung, a major artery and her heart.
