A San Mateo man was sentenced to 16 years in state prison in a case in which he struck four teenagers with his car after he falsely suspected them of tampering with the vehicle.

Omeed Adibi was found guilty in May on five counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and five counts of aggravated hit and run causing injury. Prosecutors sought the maximum sentence of 17 years, but a San Mateo County judge ruled earlier this month that Adibi should be imprisoned for 16 years. Adibi will receive credit for time already served and good behavior that will take about four and a half years off his sentence.

Adibi was 18 when he drove his black Mercedes SUV into a group of five boys who walked on a sidewalk along Howard Avenue in Burlingame in February 2020.

Prosecutors argued that Adibi had targeted the boys, believing them to be responsible for a prank on him that they had not actually pulled. Authorities said Adibi’s own friends “promoted” him by leaving animal feces in his car the day before the crash.

Before Adibi’s sentence was passed, the court also heard from the victims’ family members. During the trial, a mother of one of the victims described his injuries, his two-week hospital stay and the impact the traumatic memory had on the boy, saying “his confidence was no longer the same.”