77 Month Sentence for Defendant in Seattle Area Home Invasion Burglaries
On Friday, a defendant in a case involving a series of 2023 Seattle area home invasion burglaries that targeted Asian households was sentenced to 77 months — 6.4 years — by a King County judge. This follows the defendant Demarcus Pate (cause #: 23–1–05930–8) pleading guilty as charged on March 31 to Unlawful Possession of a Firearm in the 2nd Degree, two counts of Burglary in the First Degree, and Hate Crime, in a case brought by the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.
“I appreciate the work of our Deputy Prosecuting Attorneys, Victim Advocates and Legal Service Professionals for bringing this case to justice, and for the good investigative work of Seattle Police Department detectives,” said King County Prosecuting Attorney Leesa Manion.
There are additional cases against other defendants that are ongoing. Defendants are innocent until proven guilty.
Background on Washington State Hate Crime Law
King County Prosecuting Attorney Leesa Manion is working to bring greater accountability for hate crimes this legislative session with HB 1052, which was approved by the Washington State Legislature and is on Governor Ferguson’s desk pending signature.
This legislation would allow prosecutors statewide to charge hate crimes motivated “in whole or in part” because of the defendant’s perception of the victim’s “race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender expression or identity, or mental, physical, or sensory disability. In doing so, this bill will provide important clarity to RCW 9A.36.080. Our legislative one pager is attached, a quote from Leesa about this bill is below, and you can watch Senior Deputy Prosecuting Attorney for Hate Crimes, Yessenia Manzo, testify on this bill on our Instagram page. You can also download video/audio via TVW (testimony is at the 24:00 minute mark): https://tvw.org/video/house-community-safety-2025011176/?eventID=2025011176.
“When there is evidence to show that people were victimized by a hate crime — in whole or in part because of a defendant’s bias — those perpetrators must be held accountable. Prosecutors need this legal fix to ensure that happens,” King County Prosecuting Attorney Leesa Manion said. “I appreciate the leadership of Rep. Cindy Ryu and Sen. Manka Dhingra to hold people accountable when they act out from a place of hate.”
Statistics on Anti-Asian Hate Crimes in King County
There were 14 anti-Asian hate crimes referred and charged by the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office in 2023 — the most cases of any years where that specific data was recorded.
From 2018-April 20, 2025, the KCPAO has charged 53 anti-Asian hate crimes after referrals from police investigators.
The years with the specific number of anti-Asian hate crimes:
2018: 4
2019: 2
2020: 7
2021: 13
2022: 8
2023: 14
2024: 5
2025 (through April 20): 1
