Bel Air Home Invasion Victim Hospitalized, Suspects In Custody: Report

BEL AIR, MD (Update) — Both suspects in a recent Bel Air home invasion are in custody, according to police.

On Wednesday morning, officials asked for help finding one of the suspects in a violent burglary on Moores Mill Road.

By 2 p.m., Bel Air police said that 18-year-old Ryan Michael Smetana was in custody. His alleged accomplice, 18-year-old Patrick Heinecke, was previously detained.

The pair is accused of assaulting the resident of a home in the 400 block of Moores Mill Road over the weekend, including punching, hammering and stomping on him.

The 18-year-old victim was in stable condition at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center on Wednesday, according to ABC 2 News, which reported police believe the incident was retaliatory. The victim's parents told the TV station that their son may have made "bad choices."

PREVIOUS REPORT — After a violent burglary was reported in Bel Air, authorities are asking the public for help finding one suspect who is at large.

Ryan Michael Smetana, 18, of Bel Air, is wanted in connection with a home invasion over the weekend in the 400 block of Moores Mill Road, police reported Wednesday.

Smetana and Ian Patrick Heinecke, 18, of Forest Hill, kicked in the side door to the Moores Mill Road residence and accosted the resident who was sleeping between 11 p.m. on Saturday, April 15, and 3 a.m. on Sunday, April 16, according to the Bel Air Police Department.

Smetana, who lives in Bel Air, is accused of punching the victim and stomping on him, police reported.

Heinecke hit the victim multiple times with a hammer, according to officials. Police said that as of Wednesday, Heinecke had been arrested. However, Smetana was at large.

Authorities say they have a warrant charging Smetana with seven offenses: home invasion, third and fourth-degree burglary, first and second-degree assault, reckless endangerment and malicious destruction of property greater than $1,000.

Anyone with information regarding the whereabouts of Ryan Michael Smetana is asked to contact Detective Mark Zulauf of the Bel Air Police Department at 410-638-4524 or mzulauf@belairmd.org.

Image courtesy of the Bel Air Police Department