On April 21, 1998, in Cherokee County, Georgia, Rechsteiner threatened Georgia Department of Transportation employee Paul Kaspereen after Kaspereen informed him that an exit ramp leading off Interstate 575 was closed. He then hit Kaspereen twice with his Ford F-250 pickup truck. Kaspereen was not seriously hurt. Rechsteiner was subsequently arrested and pleaded guilty on March 17, 1999 to aggravated assault and making terroristic threats, both of which are felonies carrying a maximum sentence of 30 years imprisonment. Under Georgia's first-offender rules, which stipulate that a first-time offender will be found not guilty if they do not violate the terms of their probation, Judge C. Michael Roach sentenced Rechsteiner to 10 days in Cherokee County Jail. He also placed Rechsteiner on seven years' probation; ordered him to pay $25,000 in fines, restitution, and legal fees; and made him perform 200 hours of community service.