SUPERIOR Court Associate Judge Joseph N. Camacho found probable cause to charge Joseph Lee with breaking into a house on Christmas Day.
According to an amended information filed in court, Lee was charged with burglary, theft, and assault with a dangerous weapon.
“Defendant is … held to answer said charges,” Judge Camacho said in an order on Wednesday. He also scheduled a status conference for Feb. 22, at 1:30 p.m. in Courtroom 205A.
At the hearing, Lee, 26, appeared in the custody of the Department of Corrections and was represented by court-appointed attorney Bruce Berline. Assistant Attorney General Heather Barcinas appeared for the government.
According to the prosecution, on Dec. 25, 2023, 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.
He said he saw the man crouching down in the living room and trying to pack a karaoke machine in a bag.
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 in the house were on.
The victim said when he yelled, the suspect looked up, picked up a knife and charged him. The victim said he ran back to 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.
The victim said he eventually managed to close and lock the door. He 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 a 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.
