Howard County Police arrested two men Thursday, July 7 and charged them with attempted murder for a February incident in which an Elkridge house with 11 people inside was set on fire.
Police believe 43-year-old Santiago A. Gonzalez-Miner, of 6383 Forrest Ave. in Elkridge, was going through a divorce with his wife and conspired with 23-year-old Edvin Giovanni Ceron Reyes, of Hyattsville, to set fire to her house in an attempt to kill her and her male acquaintance.
The fire occurred on Feb. 18 in the 6300 block of Loudon Ave. When police and fire department personnel arrived at the scene around 11:53 p.m., they found the house engulfed in heavy flames and smoke.
Two of the occupants were injured while jumping from the second story. One, a female victim, was taken to the University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center in critical condition, where she was treated and later released. The other victim, a male, declined medical attention. Police did not release the victims' names.
Police and fire officials conducted a joint investigation and concluded that Gonzales-Miner and Reyes set the porch on fire. Both men are being charged with 11 counts of attempted first- and second-degree murder, first- and second-degree assault and reckless endangerment, as well as one count of first- and second-degree arson and malicious burning.
Gonzales-Miner and Reyes are being held at the Howard County Detention Center without bond.
The fire caused an estimated $306,000 in damages: $302,000 to two homes and $4,000 to a vehicle.