A Naval Academy professor will spend two weekends in jail and be on probation, after he admitted breaking into the Gambrills home of his former girlfriend.
Lt. Cmdr. Charles D. Spera, 31, of Bowie, was granted probation before judgment this week by Annapolis District Court Judge Megan B. Johnson, according to court records. She ordered Spera to serve four days in the Anne Arundel County jail and placed him on 18 months probation, after he pleaded guilty to burglary, the records say.
The sentence, which is not a conviction, means his record can eventually be cleared if he meets all conditions.
An academy spokeswoman said he teaches cyber-security on a temporary assignment; his regular assignment is at the Navy Information Operation Command at Fort Meade.
Spera broke into the home of his former girlfriend, who had broken up with him about three weeks earlier, according to charging documents. Erin McNamara told police she first heard someone knocking on the door of the home she shared with a roommate for about 20 minutes around 11 p.m. last Oct.14. She heard their dog barking, then glass "clanging," before Spera came up the stairs in the dark, the charging paperwork said.
She told Anne Arundel County police that she confronted him at her bedroom door, and, frightened, spoke with him for an hour and convinced him to leave, according to the allegations. He apologized before leaving, she told police. A neighbor saw a van, which is the model and color of his, at her home, according to police.
After the incident, McNamara obtained a peace order against Spera, court records show.
andrea.siegel@baltsun.com