A 36-year-old man police say they caught in the act burglarizing a Capitol Hill home has spent nearly all of his adult life in prison. Convicted of second-degree murder in 1993 at the age of 19, the accused burglar now faces another five years in jail for charges he faces in connection with a February break-in that police say netted four PlayStation games and a small pile of video game cables and equipment.

Guy Lee Bash was arrested by Seattle police after they found him crawling out a window of a home on E. Republican near 19th Ave around 2:30 AM on February 18. According to the police report on the incident, the woman who lived in the home called 911, whispering that there shouldn’t be anybody else in the house but that she could hear somebody inside. Arriving officers said they saw Bash exiting the house in a hurry, his backpack flipping open as he dropped four Playstation 3 video games onto the deck. Inside the pack, police found two wireless PS3 controllers, an HDMI cable and a power cord.

For $150 worth of electronics plus copies of the games Full Auto 2, Guitar Hero, Baja and Mirrors Edge, Bash now faces the prospect of returning to jail for another five years.

At the age of 19, Bash — who goes by the name Guy Granroos — was sentenced to 16 years in jail for killing 26-year-old Phillip Hayes. Accounts of the June, 1993 murder vary only in the details. There was an all-night party. Bash had an accomplice charged for attempting to hide the knife used in the attack. Bash “beat, kicked and stabbed” his victim.

According to documents prepared by King County Prosecutor Dan Satterberg’s office, Bash was in trouble with the law prior to the murder conviction, busted for possession of stolen property, assault, two instances of car theft and burglary before the 1993 crime put him away into his mid-30s. Even while in custody, Bash was hit with a conviction on a charge of custodial assault in 2007.

From prison, Bash sent an e-mail to the Alliance of Incarcerated Canadians/Foreigners in American Prisons that has been posted on the organization’s Yahoo Group. Here is an excerpt:

 its no secret,i’ve been incarcerated inwash, st. dept. of corr. since the (yr 1994) under the felony & alpha plea murder in the 2nd degree, which after 12 of a 16 yr plea bargain is under scrutiny. thanks to andress/hinton, i am one of the 750 cases since 1972, to possibly be overturned. i have a maximum release date of aug.2009 & a minimum release date of june 2008 but i will end up serving my max because i have no incoming ($$) in my spendable account balance, i am homeless, i have no college degree, i have no resources i can turn to in times of uncertainty, especially; after i serve a completed term of 16 yrs.

i am not this big of a burden, nor is my birth mother orher siblings!!!! yeah (we) were born & raised below povertyw/i the emerald city of seattle washington but that shouldn’tbe a factor or the deciding factory to be shunned indirectly.

Bash now faces arraignment in days on charges of residential burglary in a process that has been held up as prosecutors worked to establish a bail higher than the $15,000 that was initially set. He’s a “two-strike” felon — a third, more serious conviction would put him away for life. Residential burglary doesn’t qualify as that third strike but King County Prosecutor spokesperon Dan Donohoe said Bash could face another 63 to 84 month in prison if convicted. If that scenario plays out, Bash will have spent half of his time on the planet behind bars.