Man sneaks into Bellevue apartment, refuses to leave

Burglary, indecent exposure suspect pleads not guilty

A man accused of sneaking into a Bellevue apartment and exposing himself to a group of international students while they slept pleaded not guilty in court Thursday.

BELLEVUE, Wash. - A man is accused of terrorizing a group of international students in Bellevue after police say he snuck into their apartment while they were sleeping and exposed himself.

After the woman woke up, he reportedly laid down on a bed and refused to leave.

Man sneaks into Bellevue apartment, exposes himself to students

A man is accused of terrorizing a group of international students in Bellevue after police say he snuck into their apartment while they were sleeping and exposed himself.

Three of them confronted him after they woke up and found him in their room.

The man claimed he was homeless and had nowhere else to go. The women didn't believe that and were terrified that he might assault them.

"We didn’t know this man at all," said Adel, an International Student at Bellevue College.

Adel and Seide say they were home when the man walked into their apartment at around 5:45 a.m.

"We thought maybe he had a gun or something or might hurt us," said Adel.

Police say Steven Malepeai is accused of breaking into their apartment at a complex off of Southeast 14th Place.

"He acted like it’s his house, he used our bedroom," said Seide, also International Student at Bellevue College.

Two friends had been sleeping in a living room area, and when one of the women left to take a walk, police believe the door failed to lock.

"One of the girls, it was their first day in the U.S., she had jet lag," said Adel.

Minutes later, Malepeai allegedly snuck into the apartment. Police say he began exposing himself and touching himself inappropriately.

Then Seide says he shook her while she was asleep, trying to wake her up.

"I woke up because this man was waking me up, and he was shaking me," said Seide.

Bellevue College break-in, indecent exposure

Adel said she ran out to the balcony with her cell phone to call the police so that the man couldn't hear her, while the other two roommates tried to convince him to leave. They told him that if he left right away, the police wouldn't have to get involved. However, they say he refused.

"We were just very scared that he might hurt us," said Adel.

The young women say that he started smoking in the apartment, then went to the kitchen to get a drink of milk before returning to the living room area to lay down.

"We don’t generally see suspects sticking around and smoking a cigarette and making themselves at home while people are there," said Captain Landon Barnwell, Bellevue Police Department.

Police reported in court documents that:

"The victims in the home were scared and described asking Malepeai to leave, which he responded by raising a clenched fist."

"This led the victims to hide inside of a room."

"While in the room, they saw Malepeai drink beverages from the fridge before he laid in a bed where law enforcement later found him apparently asleep."

"He doesn’t want to leave. So, it’s a show of escalating his behavior towards them," said Barnwell. "That’s what we are still kind of looking into as to why. It’s not something we see where someone breaks into a home or breaks into a home or breaks into an apartment and still sticks around."

"We want to thank the Bellevue police, they reacted very fast," said Adel.

Court documents state that the man has around 10 prior warrants stemming from 2013 to 2023. Some of the most recent cases include accusations of lewd conduct, making false statements in Edmunds Municipal Court and criminal trespass in Lynnwood Municipal Court.

Malepeai is charged with residential burglary and was booked in the King County Jail on $100,000 bail, where he remains for now.

Prosecutors also asked for sexual assault protection orders for the victims and that the defendant have no contact with minors if he posts bail.