A state jury has found David DePape guilty on all charges related to a home invasion and hammer attack on Paul Pelosi, the husband of former U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi, CBS News reports.
DePape was found guilty while standing trial on five counts including aggravated kidnapping resulting in bodily injury or death, false imprisonment of an elderly or dependent adult, threatening the family of public officials, first-degree residential burglary, and dissuading or hindering a witness by force or intimidation.
The jury reached unanimous verdicts on all five counts, according to court officials. The jury began its deliberations Tuesday afternoon in San Francisco.
Court officials announced that the verdict was handed down on Friday afternoon and would be announced after 4 p.m. (local time). The court was not in on Wednesday because of the Juneteenth holiday.
In his closing argument, San Francisco Public Defender Adam Lipson said DePape had been living a secluded life and had been “caught in a web of propaganda and conspiracy theories” when he intruded into Nancy Pelosi’s residence on October 28, 2022, reports CBS News.
Aaron Bennett, a spokesman for Nancy Pelosi, spoke on behalf of the Pelosi family. “Speaker Pelosi and her family are in awe of her father’s bravery in standing up to testify in this trial, just as he did on the night of the attack, saving their lives,” Bennett said.
“Over the course of nearly 20 difficult months, Mr. Pelosi has displayed extraordinary courage and fortitude each day of his recovery. The Pelosi family is grateful for the outpouring of kind condolences and prayers they continue to receive. Speaker Pelosi and her family will refrain from making any further substantive comment until after his sentencing,” he said.
David DePape was sentenced in May to 30 years in federal prison, with a term ending in November 2023 after a jury found him guilty of taking then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi hostage and attacking her husband at their residence in San Francisco, CBS News reports.
The attack on Paul Pelosi was captured on police bodycam video when officers responded to his 911 call and found him struggling with DePape, who then attacked Pelosi with a hammer.
The incident occurred just ahead of the 2022 midterm elections, creating a stir in the political world, and was attributed to the predictable effects of escalating political rhetoric.
Opening statements in the state trial began in May, a day before Depp’s federal sentencing was reopened to allow him to speak following a procedural error that occurred during the original sentencing, CBS News reports.
Earlier this month, the judge in the state trial granted the defense’s motion to dismiss three charges in the case against DePaeppe, including attempted murder, assault on an elderly person, and assault with a deadly weapon — based on the public defender’s argument that the charges fell under double jeopardy.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
