The attorney representing Brendan Depa, the 17-year-old former Matanzas High School student facing a first-degree felony in the beating of a school employee, is meeting with the prosecutor on Friday for negotiations signaling the possibility of a plea.
Kurt Teifke, the Palm Coast-based defense attorney, told Circuit Judge Terence Perkins of the meeting with Assistant State Attorney Melissa Clark at Depa’s first pre-trial hearing this afternoon at the Flagler County courthouse. Depa was not present.
The two sides have hinted in the past at a possible plea, but without details, and nothing suggests that just because the two sides are meeting, a plea will follow. Nevertheless, while the next pre-trial is set for September 7, Teifke told Perkins that the case could be brought back for a hearing in August “in the event we come to resolution.”
Depa will turn 18 on Aug. 22, when he would presumably be transferred to the Flagler County jail. For now, he’s being held at a juvenile prison in Duval County. He is no longer in solitary confinement, as he had been before. He appeared in court on June 16 for a competency hearing, when Perkins ruled that he was competent to proceed to trial.
The first degree felony charge Depa faces exposes him to a maximum of 30 years in prison if he is convicted, though a sentence of that length is unlikely. It is just as unlikely that the defense would want to risk having him face a jury, because the prosecution will show the video that has circled the globe, and that shows Depa first shoving Joan Naydich, the paraprofessional who was in his classroom, to the ground, knocking her unconscious, then mercilessly pummeling her until staffers, after some struggles, managed to stop the beating. Additional video, taken from body cams with sound, shows Depa yelling more threats at Naydich.
While the defense may be eager for a plea, and the prosecution may be receptive, the prosecution might be less inclined to tender too generous an offer–not because it wouldn’t have done so in other similar circumstances, as it has. But because the Depa case has garnered extraordinary attention, compounded by the State Attorney’s decision to charge him as an adult.
That has in a sense boxed in the prosecution in a more aggressive posture than would have otherwise been the case, although more recent revelations by Depa’s mother about his history, and a considerably sympathetic response to those revelations, may have eased the way to a negotiated plea both sides can live with.
Brendan’s Mom says
It is 4;21 in the morning. I have been laying here awake for the last for the last hour & a half praying for my son, pleading for God’s mercy. I can’t erase from my mind the conversation I had this evening with a mother who is a juvenile prison reform advocate. My heart feels so heavy.
She told me that any prison sentence will be a death sentence for my son.
I have listened to horror stories of inmates that are targeted for abuse & exploitation. I have listened to stories of beatings, rape, suicides and murders covered up to look like suicide.
I was told that my son will stand out because he is different. It is easily to see that now because of how he has experienced the pretrial center. Inmates have called him autistic as well as used the “R” word. While he is finally out of solitary confinement, he’s still isolated. He says no one likes him. He stands out as different & he is experiencing his greatest fear…being alone.
He wouldn’t survive prison because he can’t understand unwritten rules, and he has difficulty understanding body language. Transitions and changes in routines are also very difficult. He is anti-drugs and would step forward to protect any friend in need. I realize that sounds inconsistent when compared to his actions towards Mrs. Naydich., but he has shown that side throughout his life.
I can’t get the picture out of my mind of my child who is like a 5 year old, when it comes to emotional maturity, in prison with gang members, pedophiles, rapists & murders . If he survives, what will he be like when he is released?
ASF says
I hope a much more intensive program more suited to Mr Depa’s needs can be located. But with multiple prior assaults–and this last one being as violent as it was–it might be hard to locate one that would be willing to take a chance on him.
Mr. Depa’s family must be in agony and no one can dispute the pain and trauma being endured by the victim in this case. It is a tragedy all around. I hope something can be negotiated that will not end up with Mr. Depa becoming an easy target, a throwaway or a danger to himself and/or others. And I hope, somehow, all the families involved will be able to find relief for the trauma they ahaving to endure.
Pat says
This wasn’t the first time he was violent and would wager will not be his last. He needs to be locked away before he kills someone.
Gretchen H. says
I pray that Brendan will get the needed help he deserves and not sentenced to prison. I appreciate Flagler allowing his mother to share her perspective: https://flaglerlive.com/brendan-depa-my-son-story/
PT says
If the school personnel would have followed the IEP this tragic event would never have happened!!! They were written down to prevent anyone triggering an outburst from him. He should never have been allowed to have electronics at the school and the paraprofessional should not have been talking about him in front of his classmates to another teacher. There were policies and procedures that were not followed.
It is a tragedy for all parties involved. If he is basically a 5 year old developmentally, he will not survive prison and it will be a death sentence. As a society, I think we can do better. We have too, with 1 in 20 boys having Autism at the present, we have to come up with better community treatment programs and schools that are staffed with professionals that trained to prevent events like this from happening.
Once these children get through puberty, they settle down a lot and the likely hood of an event like this is decreased dramatically. We need to have more grace and understanding to special needs individuals. We have an epidemic and it’s only going to get worst if nothing changes.
A Flagler County Mom says
My heartbreaks reading continued coverage of this case. The decision by the judge that he is competent to stand trial and pressure on the prosecutor to make an example of this case is unbelievable to me as an adoptive mom of special needs children living in Flagler County. From person experience with one of my children, the difference the right medication combination and proper support can make in changing a child from no hope of a future to functioning within a safe environment is possible.
The Para has my utmost respect. My mom worked in a similar position and has the memories of what happens when a child is dysregulated. She had to wear long sleeves to my wedding because of the marks on her arms from another staff members abuse of power that resulted in a student’s meltdown. All that to say…what happened should not have happened. Safe guards were written in the IEP that were not followed. The pain for the para is very real and in no way diminished by the need for reform AND a place for Brendan that is not a “free pass” nor prison!
Are we as a society comfortable locking away the mentally challenged because we don’t know what else to do with “them?” Throw them in prison and let them and other criminals sort it out? Or will we acknowledge the needs of children and adults who through NO fault of their own…no control over their brain development are not equipped to exist in society without support and proper care. We talk about the mental health crisis and how it needs to be dealt with to avoid casualties but when faced with mental health needs the answer is prison over treatment.
Brendan's Mom says
I understand your concern. Unfortunately this is a growing problem for our state. 1 in 44 children are being diagnosed with autism, including 1 in 25 boys. About 20% will have aggressive behaviors. Early intervention helps but not always.
Psychiatrists are placing kids on combinations of major psychiatric medications without knowing what is helping and what is hurting. Medications that are being used that are not approved or come with strong warnings for kids. I asked for a medication wash to see what medications were making his behavior worse, but didn’t get it. My son was on a combination of 6 psychiatric medications at the time of the incident.
Since he has been in the pretrial detention center, he has been dropped down to 1 medication. He tells me he feels calmer.
Prior to the last medication being stopped, he had continuous hallucinations. Once the pretrial detention center ran out of Bupropion (which isn’t recommended for pediatric patients, and has a common side effect of anxiety, delusions, hallucinations, irritability, irritability, and abnormal thinking) his hallucinations stopped, and he feels calmer.
It is common for those with Autism to experience fight, flight or freeze when stressed. Their brains are structurally and functionally different. He was living in an intensive group home for 2 1/2 years before the incident at the school happened. The group home managed his behavior through knowing his triggers, and having training/knowledge in deescalation techniques as well as restraint techniques on the rare occasion they were needed. The law did not have to get involved while under the supervision of the group home. His behavior had been improving while in the group home, per his Agency for Person’s with Disabilities coordinator’s last report. Unfortunately the public school was a poor fit for him as they apparently did not have the needed resources.
Our state needs to do a better job providing needed services for people with mental health issues and for those who are neurodivergent. Medication can do wonders when it works, but sometimes it can cause tremendous harm. Psychiatrists treating during a 72 hour hold under a Baker Act must be made to speak to the treating psychiatrists to find out what needs to be tried while in a secured facility. Insurance must be made to pay for longer stays to get the appropriate medication. The hold is up to 72 hours & only to “stabilize”. A release can happen in as little as 24 hours. This is not long enough to figure out the right medication combination, especially when the hospital psychiatrist refuses to talk to the person’s treating psychiatrist. The next step is residential treatment. It requires a significant number of Baker-Acts to get approved, & even then there is a constant battle with the insurance company.
I have spoken to several owners of intensive behavioral group homes. According to them, his behavior was to be expected due to his trigger being used as a motivator. I was also informed that his needs match other clients and he is a perfect match for intensive behavioral group homes because they have the staff, training, and ability to manage his environment.
Sending him to prison will not make anyone safer. Prison does not provided needed services for people with autism. They are kept with the general population in an overcrowded environment where they are abused and exploited. Can you imagine what kind of person you would end up with if you placed a 5 year old in an environment where they were beaten, raped, or kept locked up in a closet size room for years? Once they are free from that environment, how do you think they will see the world? My son has the emotional maturity of a 5 year old. He would be targeted in prison and he would not receive the needed care and training that he needs. Putting him in prison would not make people safer.
We as a society have to do better when it comes to helping people with mental health issues & our neurodivergent citizens.
patti fuller says
I too pray daily for Brendan . It is so wrong that our country does not have any options for autistic children that exhibit violence. He surely does not belong in jail. As his mom indicated in her long history of him, his previous arrests were responses to the family calling for help. I will continue to pray for Brendan and others like him. Our country has to do better!
Eugene Lopes says
Brendan’s behavior should have been expected based on his history and the fact that his use of electronics was addressed in his IEP. You would be amazed at the amazing work that therapeutic facilities and group homes can do with young people like Brendan. Many of these young people become very productive members of our communities. Our problem is that there are just not enough of them to meet the needs of our state. We all benefit from the done in these facilities. I am sure that the Depa’s will find a safe and therapeutic place for Brendan.