Summary
- Brendan Depa, 18, plead no-contest to aggravated battery charge and faces up to 30 years in prison for assaulting his teacher over a Nintendo Switch dispute.
- The incident involved Depa assaulting the teacher, Joan Naydich, who had questioned him about playing video games in class. He responded by calling her expletives, then attacked her after she headed for the dean's office.
- Depa's sentencing is scheduled for January 31, 2024. His attorney seeks juvenile sanctions, as he was 17 at the time of the offense. Naydich hopes he receives the maximum punishment.
Florida teenager Brendan Depa who beat his teacher unconscious over a Nintendo Switch dispute plead no-contest to the resulting aggravated battery charge, and is consequently facing serious prison time. He now awaits a prison sentencing verdict, which is scheduled for early 2024.
On the morning of February 21, Depa brutally assaulted a Matanzas High School employee who tried to stop him from using his Nintendo Switch in class. While it was originally reported that the victim, Joan Naydich, confiscated his handheld, the paraprofessional later denied that claim, testifying how she simply asked him why he was playing video games in class. The inquiry reportedly irritated her former student, who started calling her expletives, prompting Naydich to head for the dean's office. It was then that Depa assaulted her, according to an injunction for protection petition that she later filed against the defendant.
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Depa appeared in front of Circuit Judge Terence Perkins at the Kim C. Hammond Justice Center in Bunnell on Monday, October 30. He entered an open no-contest plea, meaning he will accept any conviction stemming from the case, but avoid a factual admission of guilt. The video footage of the brutal incident that was captured by a school security camera was the key piece of evidence that facilitated the proceedings. Judge Perkins scheduled Depa's sentencing for January 31, as first reported by The Daytona Beach News-Journal.
In Florida, violent felonies of this sort can result in up to a year in jail for domestic battery to a minimum 15-year prison sentence for aggravated battery, which is normally classified as a felony in the second degree. However, since Depa is being charged with aggravated battery in the first degree, he is facing up to 30 years in prison. The exact duration of his sentence will depend on how the presiding judge decides to apply the Florida Statute 775.087, also known as the 10-20-Life law, which gives the courts a lot of flexibility in felony sentencing.
Since Depa is being charged with aggravated battery in the first degree, he is facing up to 30 years in prison.
The Switch-induced incident saw Depa kick and punch Naydich over a dozen times while she lay motionless on the floor. In a statement provided to The Daytona Beach News-Journal, Depa's attorney, Kurt Teifke, said he will continue to advocate for juvenile sanctions, on account of his client being 17 at the time of the offense. Reflecting on the state of the defendant, Teifke said Depa is doing about as well as can be expected, given the circumstances. "It's not easy for an autistic child to be in a cage," he explained.
Naydich confirmed she will attend the sentencing in January in the hope that Depa will be punished to the fullest extent of the law. One Jessica White Leon previously started a GoFundMe campaign to cover Naydich's medical expenses stemming from the assault, raising over $104,000 from 2,600 donations to date.