NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — Three men pleaded guilty after a rather unusual burglary in Norfolk back in 2019. The incident ended with a Pomeranian being burned and a more than five-year pursuit for the third defendant.

On June 20, 2019, 38-year-old Dominic Selby, 44-year-old Christopher Davis and 41-year-old Michael Griffin broke into a Bay View home, believing it to belong to a drug dealer.

It didn’t.

The three had targeted the wrong residence while the victims were not home.

Before Selby was able to cover up the exterior camera, it captured his co-defendant Griffin carrying a spray bottle of what was later discovered to be ammonia. Davis could also be seen armed with a black semiautomatic pistol. The camera was then covered and removed from the mount.

However, cameras inside the home captured the whole burglary. The victims’ Pomeranians were home being monitored by surveillance cameras.

After breaking the front door of the victims’ unit and searching the home for valuables, including going through the food boxes in the kitchen cabinets. The three men ultimately stole property worth less than $500.

After the Pomeranians began barking at Griffin, he splashed one of the dogs with ammonia, causing burns to the dog. Ammonia serves multiple purposes, including being an ingredient for methamphetamine.

The injuries required treatment but didn’t cause permanent injuries. The victims later came home and reported the incident to Norfolk Police, who broadcasted video of the incident in an effort to identify the three co-defendants.

Within four days, tips led to the identification of Selby, Davis and Griffin.

Davis and Griffin were arrested in 2019, shortly after the police identified them. However, it wasn’t until October 2024 that Selby was arrested.

In 2020, Griffin pleaded guilty to statutory burglary, conspiring to commit burglary and cruelty to animals. He was sentenced to serve four years in prison.

In 2023, Davis pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit burglary, cruelty to animals and petit larceny and agreed to pay restitution to the victims and serve two and a half years in prison. Davis received two additional years for being in violation of his parole, for a total of four years.

Davis had also been sentenced in multiple other Hampton Roads jurisdictions to serve nearly ten years in prison for fraud crimes he had committed that were unrelated to this offense.

Selby’s warrants remained active for more than five years, and in October 2024 the Norfolk Police arrested him for the warrants from this offense and for warrants for violating his probation on previous offenses.

On Jan. 23, 2025, Selby pleaded guilty to statutory burglary, cruelty to animals and three violations of probation. Judge Robert B. Rigney accepted Mr. Selby’s plea agreement, found him guilty, and set his sentencing hearing on May 2.

“We must prioritize the care of victims in our work, and that is why, having built a relationship with the victims in this case over the course of five years, I chose to prosecute Mr. Selby personally,” said Commonwealth’s Attorney Ramin Fatehi. “I appreciate the victims’ care for their fur babies and their assistance in holding accountable these three men. Mr. Selby has now accepted responsibility for his offenses, and at sentencing I will seek a sentence that fits Mr. Selby’s role in this crime.”