BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — After catching and zip-tying the man who burglarized his pool business, John David Sparks didn’t immediately call law enforcement.

He and his adult sons administered a beating first. They punched, kicked and pistol-whipped the man, hit him with a flashlight, pepper-sprayed him in the face and struck him with what appeared to be a circular saw, according to sheriff’s reports on the incident, which was caught on surveillance video. Forty-five minutes passed before they called 911.

The assault left the would-be thief with a broken nose, several broken teeth, a large cut to his head requiring stitches and bruises all over his body.

And it left Sparks and his sons facing felony charges.

On Friday, Sparks, 51, was sentenced to a year in jail and two years’ probation after pleading no contest to each of the four felony charges filed against him: assault with a gun, assault with a deadly weapon other than a gun, false imprisonment with violence and assault with force likely to result in great bodily injury.

He was taken into custody immediately after sentencing.

Sparks and sons Brenden and Trenton entered no-contest pleas in July, the sons pleading no contest to misdemeanor assault in exchange for one year of probation and 240 hours of community service.

The events leading to the incident began 3 a.m. on April 27, 2022, when John Sparks was awakened by a security system and rushed to Sparks Custom Pools on Meany Avenue. He found Scott Sparks — no relation — had entered the pool company’s fenced yard and was taking cordless drills from an unlocked vehicle.

John Sparks fired a shot as Scott Sparks ran, according to sheriff’s reports. Scott Sparks stopped and got on the ground. John Sparks then zip-tied his hands and the assault began.

Scott Sparks told 17 News’ Robert Price he knows it was wrong to burglarize the business, and apologized. “I know I could have deserved a little bit of an ass-kicking, but they took it a little bit extreme, I think,” he said.