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- A jury convicted Michael Ryan Wheat of murder, burglary, arson and gun possession.
- Michael Dean Plog died from a gunshot wound before the fire engulfed his home.
- Prosecutors said Wheat shot Plog while burglarizing his Sacramento home.
A jury on Wednesday found a defendant guilty of first-degree murder in the 2023 shooting death of a Sacramento man whose body was found in his burning home after it was burglarized and ransacked for hours.
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Along with the murder charge, Michael Ryan Wheat, 44, was convicted of first-degree residential burglary and arson in the death of 65-year-old Michael Dean Plog, the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office announced Thursday in a news release.
The jury also found Wheat guilty of being a convicted felon in possession of a gun. Prosecutors said Wheat’s conviction included enhancements for committing the murder during a home burglary and committing the burglary while the victim was home.
Dominic Javier Perez, 23, also was arrested on suspicion of homicide and arson in Plog’s death. Prosecutors said Perez pleaded guilty to first-degree burglary with an enhancement for committing the burglary when the victim was home, which makes his conviction a violent strike under California’s “Three Strikes” law.
Firefighters found Plog inside his burning home in the 5200 block of Del Norte Boulevard in the unincorporated Fruitridge Pocket neighborhood. The house fire was reported about 3:45 a.m. on Nov. 2, 2023. Sacramento County sheriff’s officials said deputies on patrol in the area spotted the house fire.
Capt. Justin Sylvia, a Sacramento Fire Department spokesman, said firefighters arrived and found “heavy fire conditions” at the front of the home. Sylvia said the home appeared to have “hoarder-type conditions,” which slowed firefighters’ entry into the home.
The firefighters cleared a fence and clutter to get inside, where they found Plog. Sylvia said firefighters performed medical aid, but Plog was pronounced dead at the scene.
Firefighters discovered that Plog had a gunshot wound to his torso, so sheriff’s homicide detectives were called to the south Sacramento home. Sheriff’s officials said investigators determined Plog died from a gunshot wound before the house fire.
About two weeks after the house fire, the Sheriff’s Office announced homicide detectives had arrested Wheat and Perez in Plog’s death. Sheriff’s officials said Wheat, Perez and Plog knew each other, but it wasn’t clear at the time how they knew each other.
Prosecutors said Wheat broke into Plog’s home on Nov. 1, 2023, and began stealing items. Over the next few hours, security camera video from neighboring homes captured Wheat going into the house several times.
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The cameras captured Perez join Wheat at Plog’s home; they were both wearing hoods, masks and gloves as they entered the house and exited with a crate of items, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
Shortly after Wheat and Perez entered the house again, Plog was seen in the security camera video arriving at his home, prosecutors said. Less than 10 minutes later, Wheat and Perez are seen leaving the house. At the same time, Plog placed a phone call to a relative and can be heard moaning and screaming in pain.
About eight hours later, the security camera video showed two people arriving at Plog’s house. As the two people left, a large fire erupted in the entryway to the Del Norte Boulevard home.
Firefighters put out the fire and found Plog with gunshot wounds. Prosecutors said an autopsy revealed Plog died from a gunshot wound to his chest.
Investigators identified Wheat as one of the suspects in the security camera video and arrested him, according to the DA’s Office.
Prosecutors said Wheat then identified Perez as the other involved in the crimes.
Perez told investigators he believed the house was abandoned, and that Wheat shot Plog. Prosecutors said Wheat said he went back to the house alone, poured gasoline throughout the home and then lit it on fire.
On Thursday afternoon, Wheat and Perez were being held at the Rio Cosumnes Correctional Facility near Elk Grove. They are both scheduled to be sentenced Nov. 6 in Sacramento Superior Court.
Prosecutors said Wheat faces a maximum sentence of life in prison with the possibility of parole, and Perez will be sentenced to four years in prison.
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