Victor L. Miles II, 33, of Spotsylvania pleaded guilty in Stafford General District Court to assault and battery and destruction of property. He received a suspended 90-day jail sentence on the destruction charge; the assault conviction will be removed from Miles’ record if he stays out of trouble for the next year.

According to the evidence, Miles was part of a large crowd that was blocking one of the bridges that connects Stafford and Fredericksburg on June 1. The crowd was protesting police brutality and the slaying of George Floyd in Minneapolis and was confronted by members of the Stafford Sheriff’s Office for blocking the roadway. Tear gas was shot into the crowd in an effort to get people to retreat.

At one point, a car carrying two adults and a one-year-old child tried to maneuver through the crowd. Miles responded by smashing out a window, causing glass to shatter and land on the vehicle occupants. One adult suffered cuts to the arm, police said.

Defense attorney Eugene Frost said the vehicle “clipped” Miles as it was going past and Miles responded in anger. “It was a very emotional time all the way around,” Frost said.

Miles had initially been charged with unlawful wounding, a felony that carries the possibility of up to five years in prison. The case was postponed multiple times and the felony was eventually reduced to a misdemeanor.