Joseph Lee is escorted by a Corrections officer after a bail hearing on Tuesday afternoon.
JOSEPH Lee, 26, has been arrested on charges of robbery, assault with a dangerous weapon, and disturbing the peace.
He is accused of breaking into a house on Navy Hill on Christmas Day.
Lee appeared before Superior Court Associate Judge Joseph N. Camacho for a bail hearing on Tuesday afternoon.
Assistant Public Defender Molly Dennert, who was appointed to represent Lee, said her client should be released on his own recognizance as he has no prior criminal records.
But Chief Prosecutor Chester Hinds opposed releasing the defendant, citing the seriousness of the allegations against Lee.
After hearing from both parties, Judge Camacho maintained the $20,000 cash bail imposed on Lee, and remanded him to the custody of the Department of Corrections.
Lee was ordered to return to court for a preliminary hearing on Jan. 10 at 10 a.m. and for an arraignment on Jan. 22 at 9 a.m.
The complaint
According to the complaint against Lee, on Dec. 25, at around 5:58 a.m. a caller reported to the Department of Public Safety that there was a man in his house stealing items, and that the man was armed with a knife.
The victim told police that at about 4:30 a.m. he heard noises outside his room, but he thought it was the wind blowing the leaves. At about 5 a.m. the victim said he woke up to a louder sound coming outside of his room. He said he looked outside his room and he saw a man crouching down in the living room and trying to pack a karaoke machine in a bag.
The victim described the suspect as about 5’8 to 5’9 in height, skinny, young and possibly local. But “after everything calmed down, he thought of the [suspect’s] face…and [realized] that the male is more of a mix of [local] and Asian ethnicity.”
The suspect was later identified as Lee in a photo lineup.
The victim said he saw Lee’s face clearly because the suspect was not wearing any mask and all the lights at the house were left on.
The victim said when he yelled, the suspect looked up, picked up a knife and charged him. The victim said he ran back into his room and tried to close the door, but the suspect slid the knife between the door frame and the door while trying to push the door open.
According to the victim, he eventually managed to close and lock the door. He then took his service weapon and yelled that if the suspect entered his room, he would be shot.
The victim then called for police assistance and waited in his bedroom for the officers to arrive.
The victim later learned that about $5,000 worth of various items were stolen from his house, including his car and house keys.
The victim said after he recounted the incident on social media, a neighbor sent him a photo of a man who was sleeping on the third floor of a building located near his house.
The victim said the clothes in the photo — white shoes, dark short pants and shirt, and dark hat — that the sleeping man was wearing belonged to the victim.
He said when he posted the photo sent to him on social media, several people informed him that the sleeping man was Joseph Lee, also known as Joe Lee.
