The saga of Ian Hespelt, the Critical Mass cyclist who struck a Zipcar with his U-Lock during an altercation with its driver, is nearly over, as he was sentenced Monday after agreeing to a plea deal in June.

Surely you know the tale by now: During the August, 2015 Critical Mass ride, Hespelt was video recorded as the driver of a Zipcar piloted the vehicle into the middle of the cycling event and eventually eased, it appears, into a bike.

In response, a cyclist later identified as Hespelt struck the vehicle with a U-Lock, causing about $1,400 in damage to the Zipcar, prosecutors say. Hespelt rode off, and was arrested in September on suspicion of vandalism, false imprisonment, assault with a deadly weapon, and maliciously and willfully throwing a substance at a vehicle, after police recognized him as he rode outside a Billy Joel concert at AT&T Park. His waxed mustache, which surely assisted in his identification, held up perfectly for his booking photo.

After an initial not guilty plea, Hespelt reached an agreement with prosecutors in June, and pleaded guilty to felony assault and vandalism charges. He was back ini court Monday to receive his sentence: The six days he spent in jail at the time of his arrest, three years of probation, a 16-week anger management course, and $1,842.72 in restitution.

But as you'll recall from the first paragraph of this report, I said the saga was nearly over... and Hespelt defense attorney Justin Goodwin is already saying that his client will be back in court early next year.

“We will come back in six months," Goodwin tells CBS 5, "after he completes an anger management course." At that time, Goodwin says, they will "ask the court to reduce [the charges] to misdemeanors."

Previously: Mustachioed Road Rage Cyclist Ian Hespelt Pleads Guilty To Assault And Vandalism Charges

The colorful saga of the so-called Serial Zipcar Thief has come to an end — and not with a bang, but with a whimper (and a plea bargain).

It was just this April that Nicole Dipo, aka Ray Charles Dipo, aka Regina Dipo was arrested in San Francisco after stealing as many as 82 Zipcars.

According to prosecutors, local Zipcar thefts dropped sharply after Dipo was taken into custody. In a jailhouse interview, she said the thefts provided a kind of high, but that this last, latest arrest was it: She's "really done" with her life of crime.

Since then, the Bay Area Reporter reports that Dipo reached a deal with prosecutors in which she'd plead guilty to counts of receiving or buying stolen property and unlawfully driving or taking a vehicle. This week she was sentenced to five years in state prison, "but with credit for time served and other factors, she’s expected to do two years in jail."

According to the BAR, she also agreed that upon her release she will to stay away from Zipcars, nor will she "possess any access cards to the cars."

This won't be Dipo's first time upriver, as she was convicted of vehicle theft in San Francisco in 2010, and of attempted auto theft in 2009. But this time around, she says, "I've been able to rethink about what I wanted to do" (and that apparently isn't car theft). Will this stint in jail provide Dipo with the fresh start she hopes for? Guess we'll know in two years.

Previously: Alleged Zipcar Kleptomaniac Was Caught Stealing Another Zipcar A Day After Her Release
Alleged Serial Zipcar Thief Speaks

At last Friday's Critical Mass bike ride, a cyclist stopped in front of a Zipcar after moving in to opposing traffic. His bike was struck by the car when it began to move again, and he attacked the car with a U-lock when it attempted to leave the scene.

That's all in the above video, with excruciating slow motion effects to boot.

With regard to the incident, Officer Albie Esparza — who yesterday wrote that "nothing that has been reported to SFPD so far," — now tells SFist that the SFPD "are going to initiate a report to document this case."

That will be assigned to an investigator, who will reach out to Zipcar to attempt to locate a party involved. SFist has been so far unable to reach that company for comment.

"We are hoping to speak with both parties involved to obtain a full picture of what happened," Esparza writes.

Meanwhile, the incident has left those close to or previously aligned with Critical Mass to quickly distance themselves from that organization. Further, they emphasize that Critical Mass is not an organization at all, and therefore there is no one to take responsibility for the actions of Critical Mass participants.

"You should see the hate mail pouring in to sfcriticamass.org right now!" writes Hugh D'Andrade, who runs that Critical Mass-focused website but was quick to share that he no longer rides with the group and bristled at being seen as a mouthpiece for SF Critical Mass.

The San Francisco Bicycle Coalition also appears eager to distance itself from the non-group and Friday's event, emailing SFist to request removal of a passage that suggested the two agencies were aligned.

When asked for comment on the incident, the Coalition declined, instead issuing this boilerplate response:

"Over 5,000 people took one of our safety education classes last year, and we always encourage folks to follow the rules of the road and bike politely."

Last, in a bit of frankly delicious irony, the Chronicle points to the shirt worn by the cyclist.

Previously: When A Zipcar Hits His Bike, One Critical Mass Cyclist Attacks With A U-Lock

"[Dont'] pick fights with motorists, even (especially) if they’re itching for one," writes one website devoted to San Francisco's Critical Mass, the monthly bike ride that takes place in hundreds of cities around the world but has no leadership or organizing body.

But the authors of the sfcriticalmass.org site advise riders to "remember that pleasure and friendliness are more subversive than anger and blaming." A self-policing community, the site counsels riders to "tell other Massers what you think of their behavior, whether good or bad. Talk to each other!"

But apparently violating that dictum and others — such as '[don't] ride into oncoming traffic on the wrong side of the road — on Friday's group ride one cyclist ended up doing just that in the Marina District.

The above YouTube video titled "Road Rage Cyclist Breaks Car Window with U-Lock," was flagged by Redditors and posted by the Chronicle. At around 20 seconds in, cyclists move into opposing traffic. One blocks a Zipcar, staring it down as if to dare it to proceed. This, I'm told, is a maneuver frequently used to keep cars from proceeding towards other cyclists to ensure their safety. But in this case, that car, inching closer, eventually collides with the bike.

"You fucking hit my bike!" shouts the cyclist in confronting the Zipcar driver. After some back-and-forth, the driver begins to (illegally) flee the (admittedly scary) scene of the initial accident. At 1:40 or so, the driver or perhaps a passenger yells that the cyclist is a "psycho."

As the Zipcar passes by, the cyclist uses his U-lock to smash at it, attempting (but failing) to break the driver's side window.

A photo posted by Carter (@1carterart) on Aug 28, 2015 at 10:08pm PDT

"Holy shit that's infuriating," reads the Reddit thread's top comment. "Fuck these people — they clearly were riding against traffic, causing problems, and then that one guy stops in front of the zip car to purposely start problems. Bikes are supposed to be treated like cars on the road. This guy should go to jail for using that bike lock as a weapon."

Another Redditor urges the public not to consider the video's actions representative. "Please don't think these dickheads represent the community," they posted. "It'd be like saying that the drivers who regularly do sideshows/donuts in the intersections of 24th represent normal drivers."

In the 2013 words of SF Weekly, Critical Mass is an "anarchic, ostensibly leaderless movement" that served as a "battering ram."

But, on its website's guidelines, the loose organization encourages riders to "remember that pleasure and friendliness are more subversive than anger and blaming." A self-policing community, the site counsels riders to "tell other Massers what you think of their behavior, whether good or bad. Talk to each other!"

In that spirit, though no "organizational" comment is possible, SFist has contacted members of Critical Mass and await comments on the incident.

SFist has also contacted SFPD, who write that "nothing that has been reported to SFPD so far" and are looking into the matter.

Supervisor Farrell has released the following statement:

Violence is and will never be acceptable here in San Francisco. The actions by the cyclists caught on video this past Friday evening participating in Critical Mass are disturbing and should never be tolerated in our City - especially the one cyclist seen attacking the vehicle with a bicycle lock repeated times. I understand the history that Critical Mass has in San Francisco as a protest movement, and respect that a majority of the participants are peaceful and respectful of others while participating. But, the participants in Critical Mass must understand that actions like the ones this past Friday reflect poorly on the entire group and hurt the group’s overall message and movement. I have already been in contact with our police department to evaluate how best to prevent similar future incidents from happening. And, I expect and hope that other Critical Mass participants will condemn the behavior seen this past Friday and actively encourage their participants to respect everyone and all the applicable traffic laws while participating.

Related: Fixie Bikes Confuse Google's Self-Driving Cars: Could This Become The Most SF Problem Ever?

Nicole Dipo, the 28-year-old trans woman who was arrested in April for stealing potentially dozens of Zipcars around San Francisco, has now given an interview from jail to ABC 7 in which she admits to stealing seven Zipcars. Conveniently, seven is the number of cars she's currently charged with stealing, however police believe the number could be ten times as high.

As we noted earlier, Dipo was arrested in April and charged with the theft of five Zipcars, but police found evidence in her home, including nine Zipcar access cards and eight devices to override Zipcar ignitions, that led the district attorney to push to keep her in custody. But she ended up being released on her own recognizance and then was caught the next day in another allegedly stolen vehicle, in front of her home. Along with another she had apparently stolen, that brought the number to seven.

A CHP officer who initially arrested Dipo, however, says she admitted to stealing 30 cars. And a wave of Zipcar thefts numbering between 75 and 81 cars between March and mid-April dropped off suddenly as soon as Dipo was arrested. Since her April 12 arrest, only three Zipcars have gone missing.

Dipo claims, however, that there were other thieves and a ringleader, but she was not part of that ring.

She says the stealing provided a kind of high — there's been no clarification from investigators as to what happened to the cars after she stole them — but she says she's "really done" with thieving. In jail, she says, "I've been able to rethink about what I wanted to do."

She'll be back in court next week, and it sounds like she'll be pleading guilty to the seven cars she previously plead not guilty to stealing.

Previously: Alleged Zipcar Kleptomaniac Was Caught Stealing Another Zipcar A Day After Her Release

After the equivalent of a parking lot of Zipcars vanished in a six-week stint — the Examiner say it was 81 vehicles, the Chronicle says 76 — things were looking a little suspicious. But then alleged serial car thief Ray Charles Dipo, a.k.a. Nicole Dipo, was arrested in April, charged with stealing five of them. Police say that a search of Dipo's house led them to nine Zipcar access cards and eight devices to override their ignitions. And soldering tools.

So, police let Dipo go — she was released on her own recognizance over objection from the district attorney. The very next day she was taken into custody when caught in another Zipcar in front of her house. In fact, she's charged with stealing that one and another for a total of seven.

That, prosecutors say, could be the tip of the iceberg. With Dipo in custody, Zipcar thefts have dropped off. Seemingly prolific, Dipo could well be responsible for many of them, though perhaps it is also likely that her arrest has made others think twice before soldering their way into that Zipcar.

Dipo's arrest was the result of a multiagency effort, including the district attorney’s Crime Strategies Unit, the San Francisco Police Department, auto theft experts from the California Highway Patrol, and Zipcar’s security team. The alleged thief sure sounds like she was difficult to nab.

Dipo pled not guilty to all seven counts of auto theft, and is being held in lieu of $225,000 bail. She'll be back in court June 4.

Related: Car Burglaries And Thefts Are Way Up Over Last Year

Over on Dolores on Monday night, two Zipcars were set ablaze in a residential parking lot at Dolores and 15th Street. A reader sent us the details:

I live at 240 Dolores Street and heard two explosions around 8:30 PM. Two Zipcars parked in the car park of the adjacent building (230 Dolores) were on fire. SFFD responded immediately with 4 fire trucks. Residents evacuated. Major damage to adjacent cars. I overheard an officer on the phone referring to the incident as possible arson. I asked members of the tow company removing one of the cars if the fires were intentional and they said yes. Very scary!

Another eyewitness:

And another pic:

The SFPD report notes: "SFPD responded with fire department to the above location. Four vehicles were damaged and one of the four was towed. Incident remains under investigation."

Noting that "residents of the building were not evacuated as one reader commented," Zipcar sent SFist the following statement:

"Zipcar recently learned of a fire involving one of our Zipcars in the San Francisco area. There were no occupants in the car at the time of the fire and we are thankful that no one was hurt by this incident. Zipcar is fully committed to the safety of its members and we are collaborating with the San Francisco police department in its investigation."

Not long ago, Leanne asked readers to weigh in on Zipcar vs. City CarShare. The subsequent brand-identification debate was not quite as acrimonious as the typical Mac vs. PC debate, or even the heated Wrangler's vs. Levi's debate we once overheard in the Houston airport.

We're not sure what the above photo means in the context of the car-sharing debate. Are we seeing, as with SF Weekly and the Bay Guardian, a national chain using unfair tactics to crush the local competition? Or does this photo simply show that, again as with SF Weekly and the Bay Guardian, most people don't distinguish between the two companies and even their customers can't always remember which is which?

We had fantasized about joining City Car Share for years but could never front the $300 deposit. We had been intrigued by Zipcar but weren't motivated enough to sign up. Plus, they seemed expensive. So, when Flexcar (RIP) came about around the same time and were offering low rates and an insanely low membership fee of $36, we were onboard.

We enjoyed Flexcar while they lasted, and we hate to say that we might have played a part in their demise -- we damaged a vehicle (or two, maybe?). We reported it but nothing ever came about. Then Flexcar promptly merged with Zipcar. Zipcar offered us a membership for $50, all of which went toward driving credit. They had us hook, line, and sinker.

Image credit: Renee Ya

After the jump, we ask for your advice...