He didn't run a red light with tons of steel though, he wrote words. Even if you consider property damage, fuck that comparison big time. Thankfully,

"In fact, since the defendant has no previous convictions for vandalism that I'm aware of I'm pretty sure the maximum penalty that can be imposed under CA law (CA PC 640.5/6) is community service and a $1000 fine."

seems to imply that at least in this case it is slightly more than "just arithmetic".

This is a human we're talking about, too. Arithmetic, bleh.. speaking of that, if society gets to pay for the ill-meant fuckups of banks, why can't it pay for the well-meant fuckups of individuals?

Who would even mention 13 years, even as a joke, in this context? I think that's my question. I understand that such idle threats are used to get people to give in without trial, and that's bad enough, but in this case, I still can't fathom someone saying or writing it with a straight face. Without stopping to think for a second. That it would not actually come to such a punishment is a small, but not sufficient consolation for me, I'm still puzzled.