A former Montgomery County student convicted of plotting a shooting at Wootton High School will serve another year in jail after a judge ruled Wednesday that he was unlikely to be admitted to a dedicated mental health program.
Judge Jill Cummins sentenced 19-year-old Alex Ye to ten years in jail, with all but one year suspended to be served at a local institution. In exchange, Ye agreed to forego credit for the roughly 13 months he has already spent in prison since his arrest last year. Judge Cummins also ordered Ye to avoid Wootton High School and Lakewood Elementary School, both of which he had targeted.
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Cummins stated that she struggled with the appropriate sentence. Although Ye was convicted of a misdemeanor count of threatening mass violence, the crime is punishable by up to ten years in prison under Maryland state law. Prosecutors requested all ten, arguing that it would allow Ye to serve his sentence at the state’s Patuxent Youth Program, where he would receive specialized mental health therapy. Cummins stated that if she was certain Ye would get in, she would “absolutely” give him the entire ten years.
However, Cummins expressed uncertainty about Ye’s authorization for the program. She stated that his refusal to participate with past mental health examinations, as well as the substantial amount of good time credit he has accumulated while awaiting sentencing, would make admission to the program difficult, as the program requires candidates to be able to finish at least six years of treatment. Prosecutors said Ye might be eligible for parole as early as next year.
Instead, Cummins created an unusual sentence requiring Ye to personally report to her every other week on his progress throughout his five-year probationary period following his release. She ordered his attorney, Paulette Pagan, four months to develop a comprehensive treatment plan for his return home after parole.
During a brief statement Wednesday, Ye discussed his progress in detention but made no mention of the threats and showed no remorse. Cummins stated that this disturbed her as she considered how to keep the neighborhood secure.
“I want you to understand that my eyes will remain on you,” Cummins said to Ye.
After the sentencing, Montgomery County State’s Attorney John McCarthy applauded Cummins for taking on the burden of monitoring Ye on his probation, as well as Maryland law enforcement for averting a potential disaster.
“A lot of earmarks we’ve seen in shootings around the country were present in this case, and it didn’t happen,” McCarthy claimed.
Ye was arrested in Rockville last April as a result of a joint investigation by the Montgomery County Police Department and the FBI. The investigation began after the MCPD contacted FBI investigators about Ye’s 129-page “manifesto.” In the document, Ye discusses conducting a school shooting and strategizes about how to do so. According to authorities, he is also considering attacking an elementary school and expressing a desire to become famous.
According to the documents, the manifesto was a book that Ye shared with a friend while getting treatment for homicidal and suicidal ideas last year. The documents also show that Ye had previously threatened to “shoot up a school” in 2022.
According to the documents, the person who got the book stated that the main character was Asian, transsexual, and had previously been hospitalized for psychiatric care. All of these things reflected Ye’s real life. The individual eventually called the police and stated that they were concerned about a possible school shooting.
The materials contain many extracts from the book.
A search warrant also uncovered internet searches, drawings, and papers relating to threats of mass violence.
Montgomery County Public Schools claimed Ye was enrolled at Wootton High School but had not been there since the fall of 2022.
You will need to return to court in September with a treatment plan ready to go. Prosecutors said his remaining sentence might be less than six months if he is found eligible for parole.
