Washington:
A state jury has found David DePape guilty on all charges related to his home invasion and hammer attack on Paul Pelosi, the husband of former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, CBS News reported.
DePape was found guilty of the five charges he faced in the indictment, including aggravated kidnapping resulting in bodily harm or death, false imprisonment of an elderly or dependent adult, threatening the family of government officials, residential burglary with premeditation and preventing or deterring a witness by means of violence or threats.
According to court officials, the jury reached a unanimous decision on all five counts. The jury began its deliberations Tuesday afternoon in San Francisco.
Court officials announced that the verdict had been reached on Friday afternoon and would be announced shortly after 4pm (local time). There was no court Wednesday due to the Juneteenth holiday.
In his closing argument, San Francisco Public Defender Adam Lipson said DePape had led a lonely life and “fallen down the rabbit hole of propaganda and conspiracy theories” when he broke into Nancy Pelosi's home on Oct. 28, 2022, CBS reported News.
Nancy Pelosi's spokesperson, Aaron Bennett, said this on behalf of the Pelosi family. Bennett said, “Speaker Pelosi and her family remain in awe of their father's courage, which was again demonstrated on the witness stand during this trial, just as it was when he saved his own life the night of the attack.”
“For nearly 20 grueling months, Mr. Pelosi has shown extraordinary courage and determination every day of his recovery. The Pelosi family is grateful for the kind thoughts and prayers they continue to receive. Speaker Pelosi and her family will refrain from further substantive comment until sentencing. has been completed,” he added.
David DePape was sentenced to 30 years in prison in May after a jury found him guilty in November 2023 of taking then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi hostage and assaulting her husband at their San Francisco home, CBS News reported.
The attack on Paul Pelosi was captured on police bodycam video after officers responded to his 911 call and found him struggling with DePape, who then knocked Pelosi down with a hammer.
The incident took place just before the 2022 midterm elections and sent shockwaves through the political world, and was attributed to the predictable consequences of increasing demonizing political rhetoric.
Opening statements in the state trial began in May, a day after DePape's federal sentencing was reopened to allow him to speak after a procedural error during his original sentencing, CBS News reported.
Earlier this month, the judge in the state trial granted a defense motion to dismiss three charges in the case against DePape, including attempted murder, assault on an elder and assault with a deadly weapon — based on the public's argument defender that the counts fell under double jeopardy.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by DailyExpertNews staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)