Empire man pleads guilty to homicide that followed feud, pursuit of worthless lottery ticket

Empire resident Michael Roger Bruce, 56, pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter in Stanislaus County Superior Court on Tuesday after his defense and the prosecution reached a plea deal in an October 2019 homicide case.

Bruce initially pleaded not guilty to murder, but he agreed to serve 11 years in state prison in exchange for pleading to the lesser charge.

“Personally, that was a fair result just given the defendant’s age and his record, and then also the facts of the case — where there is certainly provocation that caused him to do what he did,” said Assistant Chief Deputy District Attorney Matthew Serratto, who prosecuted the case.

Bruce killed Roy Dale Ensey, a homeless man, after Ensey allegedly attempted to break into his Empire home, shot a gun and set fire to Bruce’s truck with a Molotov cocktail in 2019. Ensey reportedly did this because he believed Bruce had a winning lottery ticket for $20,000 — which turned out to be worthless. Ensey’s killing was the result of a “longstanding feud” between the two, said Serratto.

In response to Ensey’s alleged attack, Bruce tracked him down and found him underneath the Santa Fe Bridge hours later. He shot Ensey “at close range” five times with a shotgun. According to an arrest affidavit authored by Stanislaus County sheriff’s Detective Cory Brown, Ensey was hit by birdshot ammunition in the side and back, with the fatal shots being to his face, The Modesto Bee previously reported.

The following morning, construction workers found Ensey’s body under the bridge on the north side of the Tuolumne River.

Bruce was arrested and tried twice in connection with Ensey’s death. The first time he was arrested, the DA’s office declined to file charges due to a lack of sufficient evidence. He was arrested again after Brown interviewed more witnesses.

The prosecution’s first attempt to try Bruce ended in a mistrial in 2020 due to a hung jury. Early on in this year’s trial, during its jury selection phase, was when the plea deal was agreed to by both sides.

“Every homicide case is different and I think we fight hard to get to the right result and to really be attentive to the specific facts of the case,” said Serratto. “We’re taking into account all the facts, somebody’s record and life history. … Obviously, we want to do the best possible work for the community, but in this instance, I think we’ve done the best we can to do so.”

Bruce’s prior convictions include evading law enforcement, vehicle theft and a felony hit-and-run. He was also a suspect in a 2011 kidnapping, The Bee previously reported.

In addition to involuntary manslaughter, Bruce was convicted of being a felon in possession of a firearm.