A jury convicts a man of assaulting a teen during Scribble Hill confrontation.

The man accused of assaulting a teenager on Scribble Hill in Sand City in 2023 was convicted of the crime on July 26.

Max Steiner, 38, is set to be sentenced for the misdemeanor on Aug. 30. He was in custody at Monterey County Jail as of July 30, and bail was set at $5,000.

On Oct. 12 in Sand City, Steiner approached three young Palestinian-American women who wrote on a sand dune a message that read: “Free Palestine.”

During the trial, which began July 22, both sides agreed that Steiner saw the sign, got off his bike and during a heated exchange proceeded uphill and destroyed the sign. Thirteen-year-old Maryam Khalil started recording the incident with her phone that Steiner eventually took away from her and threw on the ground.

Steiner represented himself in the courtroom of Judge Ian Rivamonte, while Monterey County Deputy District Attorney Laura Batcha prosecuted the case.

During a cross-examination on July 23, Steiner had questions regarding the number of videos taken by Maryam Khalil and submitted to the police and the District Attorney, and whether they were edited in any way. District Attorney’s Office Digital Forensic Investigator Natalie Dill confirmed that she examined Khalil’s phone and prepared the video to serve as exhibits in court. Per Steiner’s request, she also confirmed the type of damage to the iPhone (back shattered under the phone case, front screen cracked at the bottom) and the software she used to examine the phone and extract the data.

The victims have also sued Steiner in civil court, seeking damages connected to the confrontation.