The Fifth District Court of Appeal is tiring of lawyers requesting extensions to file the appeal of a Flagler County judge’s decision last August to sentence former Matanzas High School student Brendan Depa to five years in prison for his brutal attack on a teacher aide in 2023.
The appeal court has granted three extensions so far, the third one granted on April 4 with a caution: “No further extension of time will be granted. Failure to timely serve the Initial Brief may result in sanctions proceedings against counsel for Appellant and dismissal of the appeal.”
The first extension was due to issues related to court reporters and transcripts, not to the defense. The second extension was requested and granted in February, when the court said that a further extension would not be granted absent “extenuating circumstances,” according to its docket.
The initial appeal brief is now due by April 23.
Depa, 19, left the Flagler County jail on Aug. 14 for a “reception center” in the Florida prison system before being assigned to the Wakulla prison (which dubs itself “a faith and character based facility”) just south of Tallahassee. His scheduled release date is Dec. 11, 2027, when a 15-year probation term begins. He had served a year and a half in county jails before his transfer to state prison, time credited to his sentence, and is eligible for early release for good behavior, so he could be released several months before the official date.
Circuit Judge Terence Perkins, who has since retired, imposed the sentence at the end of a sentencing hearing that stretched over two days, three months apart. Testimony included that of the teacher whom Depa had assaulted at Matanzas High School–the assault was captured on video–who described a changed life riven by ailments, and by Depa’s mother, who described her son’s difficult life with autism and various disorders since his adoption. The case drew outsized attention because of the video. The State Attorney’s Office charged Depa as an adult. He pleaded to aggravated assault on a school employee, a charge with a maximum sentence of 30 years.
Hani Adel Demetrious and Robert David Malove of the Robert David Malove Law Firm in South Florida are handling the appeal.
David S. says
It’s time for him to serve some jail time….
Erick says
This is a person who, due to a lack of support for his situation as a student with severe autism and other conditions affecting his ability to think and feel emotions, needs help.
I don’t think any correctional facility is going to help him; in fact, he’s going to be the perfect target for officers and inmates seeking to victimize him.