Everett, Wash.
Published: Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Lynnwood teen serial burglar pleads guilty

Joseph Habte-Egzy, 19, admitted to breaking into five houses in Lynnwood, terrorizing women and girls during his break-ins.

By Diana Hefley
Herald Writer

 LYNNWOOD -- The forensic evidence that freed one teen wrongly accused of being a serial burglar has linked another teen to a three-year string of burglaries in Lynnwood, lawyers said Tuesday.

Faced with genetic evidence connecting him to the crime scenes, Joseph Habte-Egzy, 19, pleaded guilty Tuesday to a series of burglaries that terrorized women and children in Lynnwood.

Habte-Egzy admitted to breaking into five houses beginning in 2005, including the April burglary that led to his arrest.

In that break-in, the teen slipped into a 10-year-old girl's bedroom. The girl awoke to find Habte-Egzy sitting on her bed. He tried to stifle her screams for help but the girl escaped and scared off her attacker.

Lynnwood police found Habte-Egzy hiding in some bushes nearby. He later led police on a tour of at least 10 other houses he claimed to have burglarized, court records show. In some of the incidents, women reported that their attacker threatened to kill them. One woman was forced down on her bed while her assailant laid on top of her with his pants off.

Habte-Egzy pleaded guilty in Snohomish County Superior Court to five counts of burglary -- one count of first-degree burglary, three counts of residential burglary and one count of residential burglary with sexual motivation.

As part of the plea negotiations, Habte-Egzy wasn't convicted of a type of sex crime that could have kept him in prison beyond the standard sentence, said his attorney, Mark Mestel.

Habte-Egzy faces more than eight years in prison. He also will be required to register as a sex offender.

"That was very important to us," Snohomish County deputy prosecutor Laura Twitchell said.

The deputy prosecutor said two samples of genetic evidence Lynnwood police recovered at the crime scenes matched Habte-Egzy.

Mestel asked to have genetic evidence tested after he learned that Lynnwood police had arrested the wrong person for the burglaries once before.

A 16-year-old boy was sent to detention in 2005 after he falsely confessed to two burglaries. He was later freed after forensic evidence cleared him of the crimes.

The teen's false confession put doubt in Mestel's mind about his client's confession, the Everett attorney said. He wanted to see the results of genetic testing before Habte-Egzy made any legal decisions, Mestel said.

"I couldn't take it at face value," he said.

Confronted with the results of the tests, his client confirmed that his confession to police was accurate, Mestel said.

Habte-Egzy is scheduled to be sentenced in October.



Reporter Diana Hefley: 425-339-3463 or hefley@heraldnet.com.
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