Crime & Safety

Attempted Murder Charge After Botched Bel Air Burglary

Police said the homeowner fought the accused burglar with a baseball bat.

A Bel Air man has been charged with attempted murder in an attempted break-in and stabbing in the Village of Thomas Run neighborhood during the weekend.

Sean Michael Certeza, 24, of the 1800 block of Oxford Square in Bel Air, was arrested and charged on Nov. 20 with attempted second-degree murder, first-degree assault, first-degree burglary and a weapon charge.

The charges stem from an incident early Sunday, Nov. 18.

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Around 6:15 a.m., a woman living in the 1800 block of Glendale Lane told her husband she heard noises in the basement of their townhome, according to a statement from the Harford County Sheriff's Office. The husband then went to the basement, where he saw someone outside the basement door, police said.

The resident went upstairs, got a baseball bat, then went to the backyard and confronted the other man, hitting him with the bat, according to police.

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The two men struggled on the ground and the suspected burglar cut the resident in the shoulder, police said.

That night police brought Certeza in for questioning and he confessed to the attempted break in and assault, according to the sheriff's office.

Deputies later searched his home and found evidence linking him to the crime.

Certeza lives in the same neighborhood as the victims. He was being held at the Harford County Detention Center Tuesday afternoon in lieu of $300,000 bail.


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