An Elkridge man has pleaded guilty to attempted murder for setting fire to a house while his wife, a male acquaintance of his wife and nine other people were inside.
Santiago Adalpho Gonzalez-Miner, 44, of the 6300 block of Forrest Avenue, pleaded guilty on Monday, Nov. 28, to two counts of attempted first-degree murder, according to T. Wayne Kirwan, spokesman for the Howard County State's Attorney's Office.
Prosecutors are seeking a 20-year sentence for Gonzalez-Miner. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for Jan. 31.
Another man accused of being involved the case, Edvin Giovanni Ceron-Reyes, 24, of the same address as Gonzalez-Miner, has a pre-trial hearing scheduled for Dec. 20 and a trial scheduled for Jan. 10, according to online court records.
Investigators believe Gonzalez-Miner had recently had an altercation with his wife — the couple was going through a divorce — and her male acquaintance, both of whom lived in a house in the 6300 block of Loudon Avenue.
That house was set ablaze on Feb. 18. Firefighters arrived to find heavy flames and smoke. Two residents suffered injuries while jumping from the building to safety. All 11 people inside made it out alive, although one woman was critically injured.
The fire caused an estimated $306,000 in damages: $302,000 to two homes and $4,000 to a vehicle.