Stonington -- Police said they charged a Pawcatuck man last week with repeatedly ramming a car into a tree in his front yard and then backing into it with his truck in order to “teach the driver a lesson.”

Joseph M. Bailey, 44, of 29 Foote St., was charged with creating a public disturbance and driving with a suspended license in connection with the March 13 incident. He was released on a promise to appear in court Wednesday.

Police struggled to explain a motive for the incident which they called "bizarre." No one was injured.

Police said that the daughter of Bailey’s girlfriend had struck a deer with the car, apparently angering Bailey who then wanted to teach her a lesson by driving it into the tree.

Police said they received a call about 3 p.m. from an anonymous neighbor who reported that Bailey had been driving the small sedan into the tree. Police said that he drove the car into the tree multiple times over a 30-minute period. They said the neighbor called because of concern that a school bus would soon be dropping off children on the street.

Bailey’s license was suspended, which prompted that charge when police say he drove into the public street.

At some point, police said Bailey pulled the car into the driveway behind his pickup truck which he then used to ram the car several more times.

Bailey has convictions in Connecticut for burglary, larceny and violation of probation. In 2009 he was sentenced to five years in prison for a robbery conviction. His probation ended last September.