Edgewood man sentenced to 75 years for Joppa homicide

JOPPA, MD—An Edgewood man has been sentenced to prison in connection with a homicide that occurred in the Joppa area in December 2021.

On August 8, 2024, Alton William Cumbo Jr., 30, of Edgewood was sentenced following his February 2024 convictions for murder and firearms charges. During sentencing, the state argued for, and the judge imposed, the maximum possible sentence of seventy-five (75) years to serve, twenty (20) years of which are without the possibility of parole. This sentence is an upward deviation from the Maryland sentencing guidelines, which were calculated to be twenty-five (25) to forty (40) years to serve.

Evidence presented in trial proved that on December 10, 2021, deputies responded to Dembytown Road in Joppa for reports of a single vehicle accident. Upon arrival, they discovered the victim slumped over in the driver’s seat. While attempting to revive him, the EMS team discovered a bullet wound just under his right eye. Although they were initially able to get a pulse, the victim was pronounced dead within one hour of the call for service. His body was transported to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner for an autopsy, and they determined that his death was, in fact, caused by the gunshot wound and ruled it a homicide.

During the course of their investigation, Harford County Sheriff’s Office detectives found belligerent text messages sent to the victim’s phone from a person listed as “Reject P” who was quickly identified to be the Defendant, Alton Cumbo. Law enforcement obtained further cellular phone data that placed Cumbo in the area of the murder at the time of the crime. This was later confirmed through collaboration with the FBI.

Following his arrest, Cumbo divulged information regarding the murder to other detainees while incarcerated. Detectives were able to confirm the information provided to those inmates. That evidence was presented in trial and also led to the charging a co-defendant who assisted Cumbo in fleeing the scene of the murder.

During his sentencing, considering the Defendant’s criminal history and the facts of this case, the judge noted that he was not a candidate for rehabilitation, and therefore a sentence had to be crafted that would protect the community from this person who is a threat and a danger.

During the same appearance in court, the judge sentenced Cumbo on a probation violation stemming from convictions for assault and theft in 2014. On that charge, the Defendant received a sentence of seven years and six months to serve, just one month shy of the maximum sentence he could have received in that case.

The sentence in the murder case and the sentence in the violation of probation case were ordered to be served consecutively to each other for a total of eighty-two (82) years and six (6) months. These sentences were also ordered to be served consecutively to any outstanding unserved sentences both in Harford County and other jurisdictions.

“I am incredibly proud of the tremendous work by Assistant State’s Attorney Jason Allen to ensure this maximum sentence today. As stated by the Court, Alton Cumbo is not a candidate for rehabilitation or someone that will be deterred from future criminal behaviors,” said State’s Attorney Alison Healey. “His criminal conduct tragically took the life of a Harford County citizen, and that simply will not be tolerated. My office will continue to pursue aggressive and above guidelines sentences for anyone who commits acts of violence in our community. Today, I hope the victim’s family can be at peace and feel as though justice was served in knowing that the person responsible for their terrible loss will likely spend the rest of his life behind bars.”

Featured photo by Sora Shimazaki from Pexels