Crime & Safety

Youshock Sentenced for Hillsdale Attack

Deal with prosecutors clears way for convicted pipe bomber to spend the next 23 years in a state mental institution.

The trial of Alexander Youshock has reached a kind of closure, with the Hillsdale High pipe bomber committed to a state mental institution, authorities announced.

Youshock was convicted last month for most of the counts against him stemming from an attack at on the morning of Aug. 24, 2009, during which he detonated two homemade pipe bombs and attempted to start a chainsaw. After the on one of the attempted murder charges, however, Judge Stephen Hall declared a mistrial on that charge.

According to District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe, Youshock has now pleaded no contest to the charge. Prosecutors, for their part, have agreed to allow an insanity plea on the charge of exploding a destructive device with intent to kill.

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The development, announced Friday, clears the way for Youshock to be instituted and avoids the need to retry him on the deadlocked charge. He has been sentenced to 24 years, eight months in prison, with credit for the nearly two years already served.

But Wagstaffe said that time will be spent in a state mental institution – unless Youshock is at any point determined to be sane, in which case he will be sent to prison to serve out the remainder of his sentence.

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Youshock was also ordered to pay more than $136,000 in restitution to the San Mateo Union High School District.


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