Edgewood Man Called 'Threat, Danger' To Community Sentenced In Murder Case

HARFORD COUNTY, MD — A 30-year-old Edgewood man has been sentenced after being convicted in the shooting death of William Doran, 29, in Joppatowne that happened in December 2021.

Harford County sheriff's deputies were called to the 500 block of Dembytown Road in Joppatowne for the report of a single vehicle collision on Dec. 10, 2021. While medics were performing CPR on Doran, they discovered he'd been shot below the eye. Although they were able to revive him, Doran died an hour later, according to police.

During their investigation, Harford County Sheriff’s Office detectives found what they described as belligerent text messages sent to Doran's phone from a person listed as “Reject P” who was identified as Alton William Cumbo, Jr., 28, of Edgewood. Law enforcement gathered additional cell phone data that placed Cumbo in the area of the murder at the time of the crime. He was taken into custody and charged with first-degree murder, second-degree murder, first-degree assault and second-degree assault. Both men knew each other, according to the police department.

After a five-day trial, Cumbo was found guilty of second-degree murder, use of a firearm in the commission of a felony and illegal possession of a firearm.

Cumbo has since been sentenced to 75 years in prison, 20 years of which are to be served without the possibility of parole. During his sentencing, considering the defendant’s criminal history and the facts of this case, Judge Adkins-Tobin noted that Cumbo was not a candidate for rehabilitation, as "nothing the court could do would deter him from further criminal behavior, 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 also sentenced Cumbo on a violation of probation stemming from convictions for second-degree assault and theft under $100 in 2014. For the violation of probation charge, Cumbo 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 82 years and six months.

“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. 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," said State’s Attorney Alison Healey.