WYLIE, Texas — A 54-year-old man was sentenced to 99 years in prison for breaking into a Wylie home earlier this year and stabbing the homeowner and the family's dog, prosecutors said in a news release.
Thong Pham was convicted by a jury on a charge of burglary of a habitation. The jury then sentenced Pham to 99 years, taking into account his previous convictions of burglary and aggravated sexual assault of a child, officials said.
The home invasion Pham was convicted for this week happened in March, at a home in Wylie.
A man and a woman were asleep in the home when they heard their dog barking in the living room, just after midnight, the news release said. When they went to the living room, they found Pham in the foyer area.
When the man confronted him, Pham stabbed the man with a knife. The couple's dog attacked Pham, and Pham stabbed him multiple times and then left the home through the back door.
The man and the dog suffered "significant injuries," officials said, but they survived.
Police later that night found Pham hiding in a creek near the victims' home.
“Families have the right to feel safe in their own homes,” Collin County District Attorney Greg Willis said after Pham was sentenced. “The jury’s verdict reflects our community’s disdain for those who invade our homes, and especially for those who prey on children.”
Wylie police detective Stewart McCoy investigated the case, and assistant district attorneys Luke Calhoun and Ashlyn Scott prosecuted Pham. Michael Coleman also helped prosecutors investigate the case.
