'I like to make cars not start': Winchendon man who disabled women's vehicles pleads guilty
A Winchendon man already serving a 2½-year sentence for tampering with cars in Worcester County, then offering to assist their female owners, has had three years of probation added to his sentence for similar offenses in Hampshire County.
Alexander Yee, 38, was sentenced to 2½ years in the Worcester County Jail and House of Correction in West Boylston with one year to serve and the remainder suspended for three years of supervised probation in Worcester County.
Yee pleaded guilty Aug. 30 to four charges of malicious damage to a motor vehicle before Hampshire Superior Court Judge Richard Cary.
Yee's spree apparently started in Western Massachusetts where he was charged after disabling a car in a Southampton Big Y parking lot. He was released on $10,000 bail at that time and banned from Hampshire County by District Court Judge Jennifer Tyne.
Tyne also ordered that Yee wear a GPS monitoring device, which police in Worcester County used to track his movements as they investigated similar cases in the Milford area.
Yee became the focus of an investigation into incidents in Milford, Bellingham and surrounding communities earlier this year after a young woman found her tire flattened outside a Target store May 21. Yee was parked next to her car and pointed out the flat, according to authorities.
After she filled her tire at a nearby service station, her car wouldn't start. During an internet search for ways to avoid vehicle tampering, the woman came upon a photograph of Yee from the earlier case, recognized him from the parking lot and alerted police.
The GPS confirmed Yee was at the store when the incident occurred. Yee, according to a police report, told an officer that his behavior was like a "tic."
"I like to make cars not start. I antagonize these innocent people for no reason," he is quoted as telling an officer investigating the Worcester County case.
Assistant Northwestern District Attorney Erin Aiello said the sentence of probation in the Western Massachusetts cases includes conditions and the possibility of a prison sentence if Yee does not comply, but it also provides an opportunity for him to receive help.
“This disturbing behavior went on despite Yee knowing that all eyes were on him. The resolution of this case gives Yee the opportunity to address whatever issues compelled him to engage in this conduct. If he squanders that opportunity, the commonwealth will likely seek his incarceration to protect the public,” said Aiello.
Yee is serving his sentence in the Worcester County case at the House of Correction. He was ordered in both cases to seek treatment and mental health services.
This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Alexander Yee, Winchendon man who disabled women's vehicles, pleads guilty to more cases
