Man sentenced to more than 13 years in burglary, robbery

A Vancouver man, who was found guilty last week of breaking into an apartment and brandishing a hammer and knife at the residents when they returned home, was sentenced Monday to more than 13 years in prison.

Roderick L. King-Pickett, 28, was convicted by a Clark County Superior Court jury of first-degree burglary and first-degree robbery, with a deadly weapon enhancement on each charge.

Vancouver police responded to a burglary at 2224 N.E. Bridgecreek Ave. at about 10:20 p.m. Sept. 4. The residents said they had returned home from dinner and saw their sliding glass door open. One of the residents, Michael Freeman-Lema, said he found a man sitting on his second-story balcony, so he closed the door on him and told him to leave, according to a probable cause affidavit.

However, the intruder, who police later identified as King-Pickett, forced open the sliding glass door and lunged at Freeman-Lema with a hammer and knife. Freeman-Lema had armed himself with a rifle and was retreating out the front door, when he shot at King-Pickett, the affidavit said.

King-Pickett ran from the scene but was later apprehended near Northeast 87th Avenue and 10th Street, according to court documents. He had a white bag, which contained items that belonged to a second resident in the apartment, court records said.

On Monday, Judge Suzan Clark sentenced King-Pickett to 160 months in prison. He was given credit for 142 days in custody.