Bicyclist who attacked car with lock sentenced

A bicyclist charged with damaging a Zipcar with a bike lock during an altercation with a driver at a Critical Mass event last year in San Francisco was sentenced Monday morning to three years of probation.

A judge also sentenced Ian Hespelt to six days in county jail, which he has already served.

Additionally, Hespelt must pay $1,842.72 in restitution and must complete 16 weeks of anger management.

The sentencing comes after Hespelt and his defense attorney Justin Goodwin struck a plea deal in which he pleaded guilty last month to felony assault and vandalism charges.

Hespelt initially pleaded not guilty in September to counts of assault, vandalism, false imprisonment and throwing dangerous objects at a vehicle.

The incident occurred on Aug. 8 in the city’s Marina District.

That night, dozens of bicyclists were crossing Marina Boulevard near Lyon Street during a Critical Mass event.

When the driver of a dark blue Zipcar failed to yield for the bicyclists, several bicyclists, including Hespelt, then surrounded and yelled at the female driver. As she tried to drive away, Hespelt struck her car with the bike lock multiple times.

The rental car sustained about $1,400 in damage, according to prosecutors.

The incident was captured on video and uploaded to YouTube.

Hespelt was arrested a week later after officers on patrol in the city’s Mission Bay neighborhood recognized him from the video, according to police.

Goodwin said outside the courtroom Monday:

“Mr. Hespelt has taken responsibility on his part for what happened that night. … As this city becomes a whole lot more crowded, every day there’s probably a situation not unlike what Mr. Hespelt found himself in that night. …  And we all have to make a decision of how we are going to react.”