Toe Cutter?

[drewblood]

did you get busted dude?
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Web helps Burning Man assault victim find mean 'clown'
Leslie Fulbright, Chronicle Staff Writer

Friday, August 19, 2005

Dennis Hinkamp endured a beating at Burning Man last year that left him with a broken elbow, a black eye and ongoing nightmares. Late one night, someone jumped him, then punched and kicked him before stealing his bike.

His assailant? A 6-foot clown weighing about 180 pounds, with sandy hair. Police were skeptical, to say the least, about the possibility of capturing a clown-faced bike-jacker.

But the Burning Man Internet community brought down that clown, known as Johnny Goodman of Seattle. On Tuesday, Goodman, 28, was sentenced in Pershing County, Nev., Superior Court to three years probation, ordered to pay a $21, 000 fine and told he can't drink or use controlled substances and is subject to random urinalysis.

In addition, he is banned from Burning Man for three years.

"There is never a perfect resolution to these sorts of things, but I feel good about what I got," said Hinkamp. "I had to compromise."

Goodman could not be reached for comment.

Hinkamp was riding his bike after the Burning Man burned on Sept. 4 when Goodman knocked him off his $50 bike, assaulted him and rode off.

Hinkamp returned to his home in Logan, Utah, where a doctor told him he'd suffered a complex fracture that ultimately required two operations, 13 screws and two metal plates to repair. He still does not have full use of his arm.

He and his friend, Jim Graham, figured the Internet was the only way to track down the clown. Over the course of five days, the virtual Burning Man community not only sent hundreds of e-mails of support, but identified the attacker and persuaded him to confess online. He was located in Seattle, arrested and charged with felony assault by Nevada authorities.

"The sheriff's office was pretty surprised when we got a confession," said Graham, former head of Burning Man's media center. "We couldn't have done it without the Internet.

"The fact that we have a community that was able to get this done is amazing. It was basically just people saying, 'Hey, that sounds familiar' until the trail unraveled and led to finding him."

[drewblood]

[Toe Cutter]

Hmm... I have been absent for a spell.