Politics & Government

Indictments Handed Down in Loudon Avenue Home Fire That Displaced 11

Two Elkridge men were charged in fire that destroyed Harwood Park home.

Two Elkridge men were indicted Wednesday by a Howard County grand jury on attempted murder and arson charges in connection with a that forced 11 people to flee a home, including the wife of one of the suspects.

On Aug. 3, Santiago Gonzalez-Miner, 43, and Edvin Reyes, 23, both of Forrest Avenue in Elkridge, were individually charged with 11 counts of attempted first-degree murder and one count of first-degree arson. 

The charges stemmed from a just before midnight on Feb. 18, when 11 people, including an infant, were inside. Nine people escaped through the rear of the home. Two others who were trapped jumped from a second-story ledge; one was transported to the University of Maryland shock trauma unit with life-threatening injuries but was later released, according to police. 

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Police records indicate that the two who jumped included a woman and her boyfriend. The woman was married to Gonzalez-Miner. 

According to an anonymous informant who came forward to police after the fire, the woman was seeking a divorce from Gonzalez-Miner, who had “a grudge” against her and her boyfriend, charging documents stated.

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The informant said that Gonzalez-Miner drove Reyes to the Loudon Avenue home on Feb. 18 and Reyes “poured gas on the front porch … near the front door, and … on the vehicle in the driveway,” according to charging documents.

Howard County K-9 and Maryland State Police forensic teams confirmed that there was gasoline in front of the house, according to the documents.

The informant told police that Gonzalez-Miner waited for Reyes in a getaway car at the liquor store at US 1 and Loudon Avenue, according to charging documents. Police obtained a security video from the liquor store that corroborated the details, stated the report.

The Aug. 3 grand jury dropped several charges filed by Howard County law enforcement July 6. Previously, the two men each faced 11 counts of second-degree attempted murder, 11 counts of first- and second-degree assault, 11 counts of reckless endangerment; malicious burning and three counts of malicious destruction of property greater than $500, in addition to the attempted murder and arson charges. 

The home at 6345 Loudon Ave. sustained $302,000 in damages. Damage to the neighboring property was $2,000. A Ford Mustang in the driveway that was destroyed had an estimated value of $4,000, according to police.

Both men were ordered to remain in the state until their respective court dates.

Four days after the fire, Gonzalez-Miner left the country and traveled to El Salvador, according to charging documents. Police stated that he is a green-card holder and returned to the United States on March 22.

Reyes is in the country illegally, according to charging documents.

Gonzalez-Miner has a preliminary hearing on Aug. 5 in the District Court for Howard County; Reyes has a criminal trial on Aug. 23 in district court.


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