Edward Van Tassel, the gunman whose protest on the La Cumbre Road overpass halted traffic for hours last fall, was sentenced in Santa Barbara Superior Court on Thursday.

He pleaded no contest last month to two felony charges of exhibiting a firearm to a police officer and using force or violence to resist law enforcement.

Based on his sentencing, he will be on felony probation for five years, contribute 200 hours of community service and pay $500 to the fund established for the four Oakland police officers who were gunned down by a wanted parolee in March.

According to the prosecution, the maximum penalty for violating his probation is three years and eight months in state prison. Van Tassel will have to remain at the Veterans Affairs facility to which he is assigned, but can apply for early termination of probation after three years, based on a judge’s ruling.

Van Tassel, 29, was arrested Nov. 3 after waving an unloaded pistol on the bridge in what he said was a protest against the Iraq war and a demonstration of support for now-President Obama. The four-hour standoff backed up traffic for miles on Highway 101 and nearby surface streets before Van Tassel was taken into custody. Since the incident, he has been undergoing psychiatric treatment at a VA facility in Los Angeles.

Authorities have said that Tassel, an Army veteran, served in Iraq and was seen at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., for post-traumatic stress disorder.

— Noozhawk staff writer Lara Cooper can be reached at lcooper@noozhawk.com.