Car cranking defendant sentenced to probation, ordered to get counseling

NORTHAMPTON  – A judge sentenced a Winchendon man charged with incidents in 2021 in which he put substances into the gas tanks of several cars in shopping plaza parking lots to three years’ probation last week. All of the cars he attempted to disable belonged to women.

Alexander K. Yee, 38, pleaded guilty to four charges of malicious damage to a motor vehicle before Hampshire Superior Court Judge Richard Cary on Aug. 30, 2022.

Yee is currently serving a jail term for similar incidents in Worcester County

Assistant Northwestern District Attorney Erin Aiello recommended jointly with Yee’s defense attorney, Alfred Chamberland, that Yee be sentenced to three years’ probation in connection with the four felony charges. As conditions of probation, Yee is required to wear a GPS tracking device, stay away from the victims, undergo a mental health evaluation and receive follow-up care. If Yee fails to comply with any of these conditions, he could be sentenced to jail or state prison.

Yee was arrested in November of 2021 after a passerby informed staff at the Big Y in Southampton that he’d seen a man putting a substance into the gas tank of a vehicle parked outside the store. Yee was then connected to several other similar incidents in the region.

While he was released on bail for those incidents, he was arrested on similar charges in another part of the state. ADA Aiello said the sentence of probation with conditions and the possibility of a prison sentence provides both an opportunity for Yee to receive help and also accountability.

“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.