Burglar admits preying on older St. Paul residents

Michael Lee Pye faces a likely sentence of more than 10 years after he pleaded guilty Tuesday in Ramsey County District Court to invading and burglarizing the homes of three senior citizens in St. Paul.

The county attorney's office issued nationwide warrants for Pye's arrest and police put out a rare plea for the public's help in apprehending him after the attacks on Dec. 7 and Dec. 21. He was arrested Dec. 31 at Mystic Lake Casino.

Prosecutor John Ristad questioned Pye, 53, about the three attacks when he took the witness stand Tuesday. He admitted to breaking in the front door of a house in the 1100 block of St. Paul Avenue the morning of Dec. 7. There, he bound the arms and legs of an 81-year-old woman, then ransacked her home. He stole "some jewelry and some money," he said.

On the morning of Dec. 21, he said, he jumped over the back fence of a home in the 1000 block of Barrett Street and entered the home of a couple while the woman was shoveling snow. The man, 66, who was inside, was hit over the head with a 5-pound weight. Pye said he had intended to burglarize the couple, but said he left without taking anything.

Later that same morning, he broke into another home down the block. An 84-year-old woman was inside with her 4-year-old granddaughter.

"I pushed her down in the kitchen," Pye said of the woman. He said he tied up the woman and child "so I could get away."

There, he took a "Target card, a bank card and I think $10," Pye said. The complaint said he also took the woman's cell phone and car.

Pye pleaded guilty to three counts of first-degree burglary for each home invasion and one count of kidnapping for the last incident. He will probably face a total of 10 years and seven months in prison when he is sentenced April 12 by District Judge Edward Wilson.

PAT PHEIFER