Dartmouth man to serve 4 years for terrorizing neighbors

DARTMOUTH, Mass. (WLNE) — Bristol County District Attorney Thomas Quinn III said that a Dartmouth man who is already serving a three-and-a-half year sentence will serve additional time for assaulting and terrorizing his neighbors in 2020 and 2021.

Frederick Preece, who is 52-years-old, was convicted of two counts two counts of assault with a dangerous weapon and five counts of criminal harassment.

Quinn said that Preece was accused of  threatening at least eight of his neighbors with death and attempting to run elderly neighbors off the road with his car.

Preece was also accused of telling his neighbors he had previously killed a man, he could accurately shoot a small object from 1,600 yards away, was going to bring a “real monster” who had previously killed, was installing listening devices at their homes, and was employing mercenaries to keep his neighbors off the road he falsely said was part of his parents’ property.

He also installed a utility pole and a guard shack on the road, and his neighbors accused him of being “ever present,” following them in vehicles, at various times of day, and when they would walk their dogs, eventually threatening to kill one animal.

Preece was previously convicted in June 2022 of violently assaulting his elderly father and is serving that sentence.

He will serve three-and-a-half to four years in state prison, and will be placed on supervised probation when he is eventually released.