3 Co-defendants Plead Guilty to Burglary, Animal Cruelty After Invading Bay View Home, Injuring Dog With Ammonia Spray in 2019

NORFOLK, Va. — Dominic Havon Selby, 38, pleaded guilty on Thursday, Jan. 23, to burglary, animal cruelty, and multiple violations of probation after he and two co-defendants — Christopher Reed Davis, 44, and Michael Danti Griffin, 41 — broke into a Bay View home armed with a handgun and a spray bottle of ammonia in 2019.

On June 20, 2019, the three co-defendants burglarized one unit of a duplex in the 9400 block of Chesapeake Street. The three men had targeted the victims’ home under the mistaken impression that home belonged to drug dealers, but they had targeted the wrong home. The victims, who were entirely innocent, were strangers to the defendants and were not home at the time of the burglary. Their Pomeranian dogs, however, were home and were being monitored with a video surveillance system that captured the entire burglary.

The three men entered the exterior door of the duplex, where the victims’ exterior security camera showed Mr. Selby covering up and then removing the camera from its mounting point.   That camera also showed Mr. Griffin carrying a spray bottle of what was later discovered to be ammonia and Mr. Davis armed with a black semiautomatic pistol. The men broke through the front door of the victims’ unit and searched the home for valuables, including going through the food boxes in the kitchen cabinets. They ultimately stole property worth less than $500. The victims’ dogs began to bark at Mr. Griffin, who splashed one of the dogs with ammonia and caused burns to the dog that required veterinary treatment but, fortunately, caused no permanent injuries.

The victims later came home, discovered the crime, and reported it to Norfolk Police, who broadcast video of the incident in an effort to identify the three co-defendants. Within four days, anonymous tips led to the identification of Mr. Selby, Mr. Davis, and Mr. Griffin, and the police swore out warrants against all three men on June 24, 2019. Mr. Davis and Mr. Griffin were arrested in 2019, shortly after the police identified them.

In 2020, Mr. Griffin pleaded guilty to statutory burglary, conspiring to commit burglary, and cruelty to animals, agreed to pay restitution to the victims, and agreed to face an active prison sentence of up to six years. Judge David W. Lannetti accepted Mr. Griffin’s plea agreement and sentenced him in a subsequent hearing to serve four years in prison.

In 2023, Mr. 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. Judge Mary Jane Hall accepted Mr. Davis’ plea agreement and sentenced him per the agreement. Judge Hall also found Mr. Davis in violation of his probation from prior unrelated offenses and imposed an additional two years that had previously been suspended for him to serve in prison, bringing his total active sentence to four years. Mr. 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.

Mr. Selby’s warrants remained active for more than five years, and in October 2024 the Norfolk Police arrested Mr. Selby for the warrants from this offense and for warrants for violating his probation on previous offenses. On Jan. 23, 2025, Mr. Selby pleaded guilty to statutory burglary, cruelty to animals, and three violations of probation. Mr. Selby agreed to pay restitution to the victims and agreed to face an active prison sentence of up to six years for the burglary and animal cruelty charges. 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.”

Commonwealth’s Attorney Ramin Fatehi prosecuted Mr. Selby’s, Mr. Davis’, and Mr. Griffin’s cases, and Norfolk Police Sergeant Patrick A. Taylor and Detective Kevin M. Gross led the investigation.

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