photo by: Douglas County Sheriff's Office

Lee Andrew Mitchell Pennington

A Lawrence man was sentenced to 13.5 years in prison on Friday in a burglary and assault case in which police used a digital “geo-fence” to track his movements.

The man, Lee Andrew Mitchell Pennington, 35, was convicted by a jury in September of 2022 for one felony count of aggravated burglary, one felony count of aggravated assault and one misdemeanor count of stalking.

As the Journal-World previously reported, the charges stem from an incident sometime before 5 a.m. on Oct. 30, 2021, when Pennington was accused of entering a woman’s bedroom in central Lawrence, covering her mouth to prevent her from screaming and then fleeing the scene.

Lawrence police identified Pennington after using surveillance video of his vehicle from nearby Bullwinkle’s Bar, Google “geofence” data and DNA evidence taken from the victim’s windowsill.

Judge Amy Hanley sentenced Pennington on Friday to 162 months, or 13.5 years, in prison for the aggravated burglary charge, 12 months in prison for aggravated assault and 12 months in county jail for stalking, with all of the sentences to run concurrently, according to a release from the Douglas County District Attorney’s Office.

Pennington has previously been convicted of violent felonies in Douglas County. In 2008, he was convicted of multiple counts of aggravated robbery with a weapon and was sentenced to 132 months, or 11 years, in prison, according to court records. He is ordered to register as a violent offender stemming from those crimes until 2033, according to KBI records.