A resident of Los Gatos the past four years, Davis, 75, is a self-proclaimed defender of the public interest and is known for regularly raising his voice and speaking out of turn during public forums, including council and planning-commission meetings.

During a one-on-one meeting with Assistant Planning Director Tom Williams in May, Davis allegedly became irate when Williams refused to discuss issues that were not related to the focus of that meeting. According to witness accounts in a police report, Davis raised his cane and challenged the town employee to a fight. Williams then had the police notified.

"They were manufactured," Davis said of the allegations. "I never threatened anybody. I never raised my voice."

In a letter to authorities shortly after the incident, Davis said that Williams rose from his seat first. "With that I stood up, in self-defense, to meet whatever challenge he might present," Davis stated.

Don Shearer, deputy district attorney in Santa Clara County, first charged Davis with two counts of disturbing the peace—one count for challenging to fight and a second for causing loud and unreasonable noise. The first count was eventually dropped. Davis pled no contest to the second count, after which the judge ordered Davis to perform community service and placed him on probation.

"It's right in line with what someone charged with an infraction can expect," Shearer said of Davis' sentence.

Davis said he only pled no contest because the charge had been reduced to one count and was considered an infraction—which is less severe than a misdemeanor charge. Thus, it was not worth the $8,000 to $10,000 it would have cost to proceed further, he said.

Though local police have documented previous complaints against Davis, this was the first time a case was filed with the county.

The 50 hours of community service that Davis must perform is to be worked out with the county and must be completed by Feb. 25. Davis said he plans to pick up trash along Los Gatos Creek Trail.