On May 1 Circuit Judge Terence Perkins will sentence Brendan Depa on a charge that carries a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison. The punishment will be nowhere near that: the sentencing guidelines don’t call for it, the incident doesn’t warrant it, and Perkins is not a hanging judge. The question is whether he will impose any prison time, and whether reason and justice, not mercy or vengeance, will prevail.
Cops/Courts
Palm Coast’s Alan Avellan Sentenced to 3 Years in Prison Over Secret Videos of a Child and Overt Sexual Acts
Alan Avellan Jr., the 38-year-old Palm Coast resident arrested last year on charges of casting pornographic videos to a television that children were watching in his house, was sentenced to three years in prison followed by eight years on sex-offender probation, and was designated a sex offender for life. He pleaded guilty to eight felonies that added up to a maximum of 70 years in prison, resulting from his abuse of children’s privacy and his own inappropriate acts in their presence.
17-Year-Old Runaway from Wisconsin and Companion Found in Palm Coast and Arrested for Car Theft
A 17-year-old adolescent reported missing out of Green Bay, Wis., and an 18-year-old woman from that state were found in Palm Coast and arrested for grand theft auto. The vehicle belongs to the adolescent’s father, who had been traveling, and who’d locked away the keys.
Lawsuit Blames Flagler Schools’ Failure to Address Brendan Depa’s Known Needs and Risks Before Attack on Aide
Brendan Depa, the now-18-year-old former Matanzas High School student captured on surveillance video attacking his teacher’s aide 14 months ago, filed suit today against Flagler County schools, accusing the district of failing to properly address his behavioral end mental disabilities, to properly train the staff in charge, or to provide legally required educational supports. The failures led to a grave but foreseeable, violent incident, the lawsuit states, injuries to the aide, and the prospect for prison for Depa.
For Derrius Bauer, Co-Defendant in Circle K Murder, a Choice Between Risking Life in Prison and a Grim Deal
The guilty verdict and sentencing of Marcus Chamblin last week in the shooting death of Deon Jenkins did not end that case. Derrius Bauer, his co-defendant, is scheduled for trial in September. Bauer previously refused a plea deal or to be a witness for the state, against Chamblin. He is now paying the price of loyalty, having few options, none of them likely to foreclose on a fate similar to Chamblin’s.
Palm Coast Man Accused of Attacking a Woman, Then Breaking Into Her Ex’s Home and Attacking Him
Christian Michael Smith, a 25-year-old resident of Quarter Horse Lane in Bunnell, faces two felonies, including one punishable by life in prison, on accusations that he briefly imprisoned and assaulted the mother of his child, then drove to the Palm Coast home of the same woman’s ex, with whom she also has a child, broke in, and assaulted him there.
The Dis-Education of Brendan Depa
Brendan Depa, the now 18-year-old former Matanzas High School student to be sentenced on May 1 on a first-degree felony count of assaulting a teacher’s aide, is alone being punished for what in fact amounts to a systematic and catastrophic failure, on the part of Matanzas High School and district officials, to follow Depa’s Individualized Education Program, which set out guidelines and requirements on how to contend with his mental health issues.
Construction of Roundabout at Cody’s Corner, One of Flagler’s Deadliest Intersections, Begins Monday
Finally, construction of the roundabout first planned in 2018 at Cody’s Corner–the intersection of State Road 11 and County Road 304, one of the deadliest in the county–begins Monday. The roundabout is the result of two studies that confirmed what local residents have always known: the intersection is a magnet for crashes, with six deaths there since 2014–two in 2022 alone–and 15 injuries.
Bunnell Man Faces 2 Felony Child Abuse Count After Accusations He Recklessly Slung Occupied RV Around
Michael Gambino, a 51-year-old resident of Hibiscus Street in Daytona North, faces two felony child abuse counts and a battery count after his family accused him of intentionally driving recklessly as he towed the RV in which his wife and her two children were huddling. His wife called police from the RV while Gambino was still driving.
School District Still Cagey About $719,000 It Lost to Fraud, But Lawsuit Possible as Details Emerge in Drips
Six months after it was defrauded of $719,000 in a conventional phishing scheme, district officials had little to disclose in an update to the school board, though about $20,000 was recovered and a board member suggested that a lawsuit may be ahead in hopes of recovering more. The money was due the construction company building the Matanzas High School addition.