OAKLAND — A 35-year-old man has been sentenced to 18 years in state prison for killing a woman during a 2020 police chase with UC Berkeley police, court records show.
Alexander McGee, of Oakland, pleaded no contest to vehicular manslaughter, evading police and domestic violence in the Jan. 20, 2020 fatal chase. He gets credit for roughly 11 years behind bars, according to court records.
According to police, it all started when McGee assaulted his girlfriend inside his vehicle, causing the her to jump from his car and McGee to allegedly throw a purse out of a window.
A UC Berkeley police officer, identified in court records as Thomas Gandsey, saw the ruckus and began pursuing McGee’s vehicle. After about a block, McGee drove up on the sidewalk near Sixth Street and University Avenue, killing 58-year-old Bernadette Young Bear, a woman who was living exactly where she was killed, according to police testimony.
Investigators testified at the preliminary hearing that eyewitnesses reported the vehicle sped onto the sidewalk and that Young Bear was asleep when she was struck.
McGee was transferred to state prison in September, records show.
In 2020, McGee’s attorney made a failed attempt to get him released from jail. An accompanying letter to the court by his mother, who identified herself only as “Priscilla,” describes McGee as a kind man with a high IQ, despite “horrible misrepresentation and slanderous reports presented by the public media.”
“Considering the seriousness of a life (lost), my son Alex is painfully affected by this unforeseen situation, his heart is heavy trying to grapple with such a situation as well as the intense charges,” the letter says. “Alex has a compassionate heart for others especially towards those who are mistreated, in need, as well as accepting of others’ responsibility.”
After the chase, McGee evaded capture for about 10 days, until a Berkeley SWAT team tracked him down and arrested him in Oakland, records show.