A former member of the Oak Harbor City Council and his family members tried to stop a man from throwing landscaping bricks into traffic but ended up as victims in a bizarre indecent exposure incident on Aug. 16, according to court documents

Shane Hoffmire, who was visiting from out of town, was at the Sonic restaurant with his adult son, Shane Hoffmire Jr., his 4-year-old son and his father when they saw a man running into the highway and throwing bricks at passing cars. The man, later identified as 44-year-old registered sex offender Gabriel K. Waldbillig, was yelling and agitated, a report by an Oak Harbor police officer states.

Reached by phone this week, Hoffmire said his older son ran out to try to calm the man. The rest of the family followed behind.

“Shane was like, ‘Hey man let’s talk, what’s going on, you’re going to hurt someone,’” Hoffmire said. “He told Shane, ‘My problems aren’t yours.’ Shane said, ‘Well you’re kinda making them mine because I can’t let you hurt someone.’”

The man, later identified as Waldbillig, continued being hostile and started throwing stones or bricks at the young man and threatening him, according to the report.

At that point, Waldbillig “pulled out his penis” before running across the street, the officer wrote. The report states that the child was present when Waldbillig exposed himself.

Four officers responded to the scene. The report states that they moved Waldbillig, who was still agitated, from the roadway and “guided” him to the ground before placing him in a “wrap.”

Waldbillig appeared in Island County Superior Court Monday. Judge Carolyn Cliff found probable cause existed to believe he may have committed the crimes of felony indecent exposure and disorderly conduct.

The deputy prosecutor asked the judge to set Waldbillig’s bail at $10,000 based on his criminal history and the number of times he failed to appear for court hearings. He has about 40 criminal convictions, including assaults and failure to register as a sex offender.

Waldbillig was previously convicted of two counts of rape of a child in the first degree.

Waldbillig’s attorney said he is currently unhoused and living in the Oak Harbor area. Since he has no job, she asked that he be released or held on a small bail amount since he can’t afford a larger amount.

Cliff set bail at $10,000, pointing out that throwing bricks into traffic was dangerous and that the alleged crime was committed in front of a very young child.

On Monday, Hoffmire said he was proud of his son for trying to help.

“Afterwards, he told me, he was like, ‘I grew up here. I can’t just sit here eating Sonic and watch this guy hurt someone. Plus, I knew you’d have my back,’” he said.