Former qathet region resident David DePape has been sentenced to 30 years in prison for an attack at the home of former United States House speaker Nancy Pelosi.
According to an account from the Los Angeles Times newspaper, the ruling came six months after a jury found DePape guilty of using a hammer to bludgeon Pelosi’s husband Paul in the October 2022 assault.
The LA Times account stated that judge Jacqueline Scott Corley delivered her decision, reprimanding DePape at length, saying she believed he continued to pose a danger to the public and all Americans.
"He broke into the home of that public official, he broke into that private space of home and violently attacked a public official's spouse," Corley stated in the LA Times account. "What that means and why this now is so harmful to everyone in the country and the future, is that when someone is considering now whether they want to go into public service, they have to think not only am I willing to take that risk myself, but am I willing to risk my spouse, my children, my grandchildren."
DePape, dressed in an orange jail sweatsuit and wearing ankle restraints, his hair pulled back in a low ponytail, did not outwardly react to the sentence, according to the newspaper account.
In a letter read in court, Nancy Pelosi said her husband continues to suffer physically and emotionally from the attack, and that the incident “has had a devastating effect on three generations of our family,” the LA Times account stated.
DePape, 44, was accused of travelling to the Pelosi house in the early morning hours of October 28, 2022, with plans to hold Nancy Pelosi hostage and interrogate her, the newspaper account stated. After breaking into the home, instead of finding Nancy Pelosi, who was in Washington, DC, at the time, DePape came across Paul Pelosi, who was sleeping, according to the LA Times story. Paul Pelosi awakened, got to the bathroom with his cell phone and dialed 911.
The LA Times story states that when police arrived, the two men were struggling over the hammer, which DePape used to bludgeon Paul Pelosi, fracturing his skull and injuring his right arm and left hand.
DePape still faces State of California charges for attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon, elder abuse, burglary and threats to a public official and her family.
"David was never violent when he was young, and I am sorry that this has happened," DePape's stepfather, Gene DePape, who lives in qathet region, wrote in a statement to the Los Angeles Times. "I am very sorry to Paul and Nancy."
The Peak reached out to Gene for comment. He said the whole situation was very unfortunate.
“I do not know his motivation for what happened but I am sorry for the Pelosis as well as for David,” said Gene. “All I know is that he [David] was just a mild kind of kid when he was growing up.”
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