(FOND DU LAC) A Menasha man who set a Fond du Lac house on fire — forcing a teenage girl to jump from a second-story window to escape the flames — has been sentenced to 20 years in prison.
Mike Perez received the sentence this week from Fond du Lac County Circuit Judge Anthony Nehls after pleading guilty to arson and first-degree reckless injury, according to the Fond du Lac County District Attorney’s Office. The sentence includes 20 years of initial confinement followed by 10 years of extended supervision.
The charges stem from a late-night fire on Packer Street in Fond du Lac in September 2024. Investigators say Perez intentionally set the fire outside the home, which was divided into two rental units.
According to the criminal complaint, the fire trapped a 16-year-old girl in her upstairs bedroom as smoke and flames blocked her only exit. She woke up to her room filled with smoke and fire, climbed out a window to escape, and suffered serious injuries as she fell more than 19 feet to the ground. The girl was hospitalized with burns, smoke inhalation and a spinal injury.
Prosecutors say Perez targeted the home because of a personal dispute with the downstairs tenant, who shared a child with him. Surveillance video from a nearby business showed a man walking behind the house shortly before flames erupted, then running away seconds later. License plate reader data placed Perez’s vehicle in Fond du Lac around the time of the fire, despite his initial claim that he was home in Menasha, the complaint states.
During a later interview with police, Perez admitted to pouring gasoline near the back of the house and setting it on fire after waiting for the downstairs tenant to leave. He told investigators he did not intend for anyone upstairs to be hurt, though prosecutors say the fire put multiple people at risk.
The blaze destroyed the house and caused more than $200,000 in damage, according to the complaint. A vehicle parked in the driveway was also destroyed, along with personal property belonging to multiple tenants. Two pets — a bearded dragon and a bird — died in the fire.
