State’s Attorney Anne Colt Leitess Announces Juvenile Justice Therapeutic Crisis Intervention Project

Anne Arundel County State’s Attorney Anne Colt Leitess was pleased to announce the formation of the Juvenile Justice Therapeutic Crisis Intervention Project. The project’s goal is to help at-risk youth enrolled in Anne Arundel County schools avoid involvement in the juvenile justice system. The innovative, smart prosecution program is funded by a grant awarded to the State’s Attorney’s Office by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ).

Through early intervention, the State’s Attorney’s Office will work with Anne Arundel County Public Schools (AACPS) and the Maryland Department of Juvenile Services (DJS) to assist youth suspended from school reduce their risk of becoming involved in criminal activity. The DOJ grant provides funding for a licensed clinical social worker to assist youth that AACPS identified as being on extended suspension. The State’s Attorney’s Office will also provide an additional staff member to assist with the project. Those individuals will receive one-on-one assistance to enroll in counseling and treatment. Currently, counselors are not assigned to youth on extended suspension, leaving them and their families largely on their own to get needed help and navigate their way back to school.

“Our hope is that the Juvenile Justice Therapeutic Crisis Intervention Project will help young people at a crossroads or on the verge of crisis to avoid becoming a part of the juvenile justice system. This project will support them during a critical period in their lives before it is too late. We don’t want youth committing crime; we want them in school learning to live productive lives in our community,” said State’s Attorney Anne Colt Leitess. “Studies have found that collaborative, holistic interventions such as this are the most effective means to reduce recidivism and prevent delinquency. We will use a licensed clinical social worker to connect families with the vital mental health, addiction, trauma and family counseling services they may need. We recognize that if things are going poorly in school and a child is being suspended, then that is a clear signal that intervention is needed now. Our goal is to assist young people before their behavior escalates further. The LCSW will help them access community resources and treatment options so that young people can return to school and avoid becoming a part of the juvenile justice system. I am grateful that the AACPS is a partner in this endeavor.”

More specifically, this program will identify students in grades six through nine who may benefit from intervention services by providing counseling and mentorship, connecting them to holistic services such as the Anne Arundel County School’s behavioral support services, mental health or drug evaluations and treatment, and trauma informed therapy. The program will assist at least 20 students per month and will report its efforts and progress to the DOJ.

“It is my hope that this two-year project will redirect the trajectory of delinquency of as many young people as we can,” adds State’s Attorney Anne Colt Leitess.

“Collectively, and with the proper tools, we can identify at-risk youth and provide them with much needed counseling. By implementing early intervention tools, we will help them from being expelled from school or reoffending.”

The U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance funded this project under award number 15PBJA-21-GG-03881SMTP.

Statement from State’s Attorney Anne Colt Leitess on the Verdict in the State of Maryland v. Angelo Harrod

What happened to Michelle Cummings, an innocent victim, can happen to any one of us in today’s climate where guns are used to settle petty disputes and terrorize communities into silence with the no snitching culture.

Angelo Harrod was found guilty of two counts of Attempted 1st Degree murder for trying to kill two young people who were on their way home from a date—unleashing a hail of bullets into their car while they cowered inside of it. One of those bullets travelled past them and killed an innocent wife and mother who was in town to celebrate her son’s induction into the U.S. naval academy.

Harrod was convicted of 1st Degree Murder and Conspiracy in the killing of Michelle Cummings and will face up to life in prison without parole as well as up to four additional life sentences when he is sentenced in February.

Fortunately, and despite many uncooperative witnesses who think removing a killer from the street is a bad thing—the Annapolis Police Department and Anne Arundel County State’s Attorney’s Office worked tirelessly to locate, investigate and prosecute the defendant.

I would like to thank Assistant State’s Attorneys Jason Steinhardt and Carolynn Grammas who dedicated countless hours of trial preparation to successfully prosecute this case as well as the amazing police work by Annapolis Police Department, and lead Detective Aaron Stein. The State’s Attorney’s office is also fortunate to have John Foster, our Demonstrative Evidence Specialist who assisted police and prosecutors in assembling and presenting all of the video, audio and photographic evidence to the jury throughout the trial. In addition, I thank the FBI for their expert witness assistance as they provided us with ballistics and bullet trajectory analysis in this matter.

Today, justice has been served with this conviction and I hope that the Cummings family and the two surviving victims receive some peace of mind with today’s verdict.