A California jury has convicted David DePape on all charges in the hammer attack on Paul Pelosi. The sentencing date is yet to be scheduled.
Bollywood Fever: A California jury has found David DePape guilty on all charges in the state trial over the hammer attack against Paul Pelosi, following his federal conviction for the 2022 assault. The jury began deliberations on Tuesday afternoon in San Francisco and reached a verdict on Friday afternoon after a break on Wednesday.
DePape, 44, faced charges including false imprisonment of an elder by violence or menace, residential burglary, threatening a family member of a public official, dissuading a witness by force or threat, and aggravated kidnapping, which carries a life sentence without the possibility of parole. The sentencing will be scheduled at a later date.
San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins stated that the conviction ensures DePape “will face consequences for his heinous crimes against the Pelosi family and our democracy.”
“I would like to thank all of the law enforcement agencies that collaborated with us to ensure that justice was done,” Jenkins said in a statement on Friday. “I would also like to thank the family for their courage and resilience. I hope that this verdict brings them a measure of closure as they continue to heal from this tragic ordeal.”
DePape’s public defender, Adam Lipson, expressed disappointment with the verdict. “I don’t believe that this was a kidnapping for ransom. I think that it’s really unfortunate that he was charged this way,” Lipson told reporters, noting that his client had lived a “very isolated” life and had been “wrapped up in a lot of conspiracy theory-type situations.”
DePape did not testify during the three-week state trial and had pleaded not guilty to the charges. During the trial, the judge dismissed three other charges DePape initially faced—attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon, and elder abuse—after the defense argued that these counts fell under double jeopardy following his conviction in the federal trial over the attack against former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband.
Lipson argued that there was not enough evidence to convict DePape of threatening a family member of a public official and aggravated kidnapping. “There is not much of a dispute to the facts of the case, but there is a tremendous dispute as to what charges apply and what don’t,” he told the jury during his closing argument.
Assistant District Attorney Phoebe Maffei emphasized the severity of the case during her closing argument. “The plain facts of this case are terrifying by themselves without embellishment,” Maffei said. “David DePape broke into the home of an 82-year-old man while he slept, entered his bedroom, held him hostage with a hammer, threatened him, threatened his wife, and attempted to kill him.”
The conviction marks a significant step towards justice for the Pelosi family and highlights the gravity of the attack on Paul Pelosi.
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