The co-founder of the Pinkberry frozen yogurt chain was sentenced on March 14 to seven years in state prison for assaulting a homeless man in 2011 on the Vermont Avenue off-ramp from the Hollywood (101) Freeway.

The defendant, Young Lee, 49, was sentenced to the maximum term after he was found guilty in November of assault with a deadly weapon for the June 15, 2011, attack. Lee assaulted the victim, Donald Bolding, because the homeless man flashed a sexually explicit tattoo as the defendant was riding by in a car, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. A jury also found Lee guilty of the special allegation that the assault caused great bodily injury to Bolding, who was panhandling on the off-ramp when the incident occurred.

Deputy District Attorney Bobby Zoumberakis said Lee became angry over the initial incident and returned a short time later with a tire iron. He chased and struck Bolding several times before Good Samaritans intervened. The victim suffered a broken forearm and numerous cuts to his head. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Henry Hall called the attack “savage and merciless” during the sentencing hearing.

Hall also ordered Lee, who has been in custody since being convicted in November, to return to court for a restitution hearing on May 14.

He will be handed over to authorities with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, who will determine where Lee will serve his sentence.

Pinkberry’s first store opened in 2005 in West Hollywood near the corner of Santa Monica Boulevard and Huntley Drive. That shop is now closed, but the chain has expanded throughout the United States and into other countries. Several other Pinkberry stores remain open in the Los Angeles area. It has been reported that Lee is no longer affiliated with the chain.