Salisbury, Maryland

From Salisbury’s DelMarVaNow.com of February 27, 2006

Suspected robber injured

A man shot and seriously injured an intruder looking to rob his home in a quiet neighborhood on Old Ocean City Road early Sunday morning, police said.

John Steve Collian, 48, underwent surgery and was listed in stable condition at Peninsula Regional Medical Center, according to state police from the Salisbury barrack. They said Collian was shot in the abdomen after he allegedly broke into and tried to burglarize a home on the 3300 block of Old Ocean City Road just before 1 a.m., but was interrupted by the homeowner.

The victim, James Joseph Rozaieski, 36, shot Collian one time before calling 911, police said in a news release that did not disclose additional details.

"A lot of it depends on exactly what the suspect has to say about all this and he's in the hospital right now," said Sgt. Daugherty with the state police. "We don't want to jump to any conclusions."

The home, a neat, single-story brick house with a "No Trespassing" sign in its front window, sits at the front of a gravel driveway leading to the Salisbury Church of Christ, about 200 yards west of the Route 13 Bypass. Church officials said the home is unrelated to the organization.

Employees at PRMC said they have no record on Collian, who has no fixed address, and could not indicate his condition late Sunday afternoon.

State police said members of the Wicomico County Sheriff were first to arrive on the scene and said the case has been turned over to the Wicomico Bureau of Investigation.