Two years ago during class at Matanzas High School, Reba Johnson, a severely autistic student in a special education setting, became so upset with her teacher that she began cursing her and threaten to “punch [you] in the f— face, pull your hair and beat your f— ass.” When the teacher turned around, Johnston punched the teacher in the back.
Johnson was arrested and charged with battery on a school employee, a third-degree felony and an adult charge: Johnson had just turned 18.
This morning, Circuit Judge Terence Perkins dismissed the charge.
The resolution contrasts sharply with the ongoing case against Brendan Depa, the former Matanzas High School student who attacked a paraprofessional employee there last February, knocking her unconscious, and has been incarcerated since while acing a first-degree felony charge.
Like Johnson, Depa is a severely autistic student. He was 17 at the time of the assault. Like Johnson, he lived in an ECHO group home for mentally disabled students (East Coast Habilitations Options). Like Johnson, he was evaluated for competency to stand trial. Johnson, a slight, white, bond woman, was found incompetent to proceed. Depa, an oversized Black male, was found competent, even though the two students’ settings in school and in their group home, and their ordinary behavior, were indistinguishable.
Johnson was given a $1,000 bond, which she posted, allowing her to return to live at her group home, where she remains to this day. The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office initially charged Depa as a juvenile, but the State Attorney’s Office charged him as an adult. He was held on $1 million bond. He was first incarcerated at a juvenile jail in Duval County, and since August, when he turned 18, was moved to the Flagler County jail, where he remains, awaiting trial.
Johnson’s case had been lingering since the time of the assault, after which–at least according to what she said in court today–she was moved to Flagler Palm Coast High School and allowed to continue her schooling, though she said she doesn’t like it. The reason for the delay had been her incompetency to stand trial, with additional evaluations since.
A court-appointed psychologist conducted one of the most recent evaluations on Aug. 1, finding her again incompetent to proceed. Assistant State Attorney Tara Libby, who was prosecuting the case, was not satisfied, and requested a second evaluation. Johnson had come to the courthouse with staff from the group home. She stood at the lectern as her case was discussed, her arms crossed defensively, almost belligerently, making it very clear she was not interested in being there.
That evaluation concluded that the “restauration training” was exhausted, and that “additional restoration training is not going to help,” in Perkins’s words.
The second evaluation, by a different psychologist, did not alter the results. “There was multiple reports filed by the competency training program. They have consistently indicated that she would not score in attaining competency and I think the doctors relied on that in their ruling,” Assistant State Attorney Jason Lewis, who was handling the case for the prosecution, said today.
As on Aug. 3, Johnson stood at the lectern alone, her arms not crossed this time, but no less out of her element. The judge asked Johnson whether she would stay at the group home once she turns 21, next February. “I don’t know,” she replied, with the kind of tone adolescents use when they wonder why they’re being questioned at all.
“Would you stay there?” the judge asked her.
Johnson then seemed well aware of what would happen next: “No, if my charge in the competency gets dropped then I don’t have to. I was going back to my auntie,” in Alabama. “I wanted to do it when I’m 20.”
“And you’d be graduating from?” the judge asked her.
“Flagler Palm Coast High School,” she said.
“Would that result in a high school diploma for you?” the judge asked her.
“I don’t know.”
“That would be a good thing if you could get it, right?” the just asked.
“I don’t want to.”
“Not a good thing for you to have that education?”
“Uh-uh,” she said. The judge dropped the question, then explained to her that he was dismissing the charge, now that the state is willing to drop the charge. Lewis explained that Assistant Public Defender Regina Nunally under the law was in her client’s right to make a motion to that effect. Nunnally will, since “restoration is not likely,” she said. After three such years, the defense can move to dismiss. (The incident took place a year and five months ago.)
The state may refile the charge if and when Johnson regains competency. But that’s unlikely. Johnson will no longer be involved in the competency-restoration program. “That’s not really helping and they don’t see you progressing much beyond where you are now,” Perkins told Johnson. There is no mechanism in place, no further scheduled court proceedings or competency orders–which would be necessary before any such step–that would lead the state to re-file the charge. Effectively, the case against Johnson died a quiet death today.
“Bye,” Johnson told the judge after he told her that she could always stay in contact with Nunnally.
The hearing had lasted all of seven minutes, ending a case that had taken up over two years for law enforcement, the court, psychologists and competency-training professionals. But Johnson’s case had all been almost entirely out of public view but for one previous article here. Unlike the Depa assault on the paraprofessional, Johnson’s assault was not recorded on video. There was no footage for law enforcement to release, or, as happened with the Depa assault, to go viral around the globe and inflame public opinion.
The Johnson case was handled as have been handled other, similar cases that fly below radar, as with John Willford, yet another special education student with behavioral challenges who lived in an ECHO home. In 2019 at Flagler Palm Coast High School, Willford attacked three teachers and administrators and was arrested on a felony charge. He pleaded out and was sentenced in February 2022 to 18 months on probation, which he has just satisfied without additional issues. Perkins withheld adjudication on Willford–who, like Johnson, is white–so he will not carry the brand of a felon the rest of his life.
Depa meanwhile awaits his next pre-trial hearing at the county jail, where he was recently disciplined over a Sept. 9 confrontation with Jason Burns, a 48-year-old inmate arrested in early August on a stalking charge. Burns had been harassing his ex-wife with letters and on July 31, left her one in her mailbox with a white powdery substance and the words, “heart attacks happen.” He’d also rigged her bedroom with a spy cameras after they’d divorced.
Burns five days later was found guilty of the stalking charge and in a plea, was sentenced to a year on probation and released from jail.
Bee says
Tell us something we don’t know! These people stay on code. This is how the stats get diluted. The system is working exactly how it was meant to work. Unbelievable! This is a case of January 6th syndrome. It’s not a crime unless the powers that be, say it’s a crime.
She’s just another good ole American Patriot. LOL!
Brian says
Before all of the cries of racism are unleashed, let’s ask a simple question. Put these two individuals side by side, and ask, “Which one of these people, if allowed to walk free, presents the greatest threat to civilized society?” You’re welcome.
Randy Bentwick says
The point is not which one of them presents a “greater harm.” The point is that in this country the law is supposed to apply equally to everyone.
Elise Gilbert says
Amen
Skibum says
The law is supposed to apply equally to everyone, true. But each individual’s circumstances, including such as in this case, mental competency, are distinct to that one individual. Just because Depa was ultimately deemed competent and ordered to stand trial as an adult does not mean this other individual has to also be treated exactly the same, because she is NOT Depa. If every defendant in similar criminal trials were compared and treated exactly like every previous individual who faced similar circumstances without considering facts such as mental competency or past criminal offenses that were particular to that individual, our criminal justice system would be much worse that the imperfect but better than most other country systems that exist in our world.
Ray W. says
Once again, thank you, Skibum..
At some point in time, Ms. Johnson was diagnosed as a person who fit the statutory definition of autism (yes, there is one). This diagnosis qualified her to receive care and services from the Agency for Persons with Disabilities (APD).
Later, Ms. Johnson was charged with a felony offense. Since the condition precedent of autism had already been established, the court, by statutory authority, possessed the power to order an evaluation of her competency to proceed to trial, either by its own order, or at the request of either the defense or the prosecution.
An expert authorized by law to conduct the evaluation was appointed. The evaluation occurred and the findings were provided to the court. The court then entered an order finding Ms. Johnson incompetent to proceed to trial. This finding triggered the application of subsection 916.303(1), Fla.Stat.(2022). This subsection has a two-year mandatory time element for the dismissal of charges built into it, with an exception that does not apply to this case.
The next step was to determine whether Mr. Johnson could be restored to competency. In Ms. Johnson’s case, she was already living in an APD facility. A competency restoration team was assigned to the task of restoring her to competency through use of approved competency restoration tools. From Judge Perkins’ reading into the record of the results of the efforts of the competency restoration team, all relevant competency restoration tools had been utilized by the team and she remained incompetent to proceed to trial. The State even hired its own expert, who apparently did not disagree with the findings.
According to the applicable statutory subsection, Judge Perkins could dismiss the charge prior to the two-year deadline, but the statute uses the term “shall” in setting the hard two-year time limit. The only options available to Judge Perkins were to dismiss the charge within a reasonable time after Ms. Johnson had been found incompetent to proceed to trial or to wait for the two-year deadline and then dismiss the charge. Either way, the charge was going to be dismissed. Should Ms. Johnson be restored to competency in the future, the State can refile the charge.
The defense team did the right thing. The prosecution did the right thing. Judge Perkins did the right thing.
We can argue about the wording of the statute, but that is a legislation issue. We can argue about problems with our current state of competency restoration, but that is an issue for the medical community and the agency, which is an executive branch issue. We can argue about fairness, but that is reserved for instances where two people who are in the same condition are standing in front of the same judge. Mr. Depa, right now, has been found competent to proceed to trial. Should that status change prior to trial, either the defense or the prosecution can ask the court to conduct a new competency evaluation, or the court, on its own, can order the new evaluation. If he is found incompetent, then competency restoration efforts will begin. If he cannot be restored to competency, then the two-year hard time limit for dismissal of charges will apply.
People slip in and out of competency, depending on their individual mental health or intellectual disability or autism spectrum circumstances, and circumstances in this field constantly change.
It took years for Joseph Bova to be restored to competency, if only barely so. While I am not convinced that he was ever completely competent to proceed to trial, I accept Judge Perkins’ findings that he was competent at the time of his plea. After all, Bova was the only client I represented or prosecuted in some 30 years of practice that involved a DCF report that he had been restored to competency, followed almost immediately by another DCF report that he had slipped out of competency. DCF told the court to ignore its first report and give the agency more time to restore him to competency. Years later, he entered his plea.
In 1988, as a prosecutor, I was reassigned to Judge Foxman’s docket after a more senior prosecutor resigned to go into private practice. One of the new cases I inherited involved a man who for seven continuous years had resided in a competency restoration facility with locked doors that was run by HRS, the predecessor agency to today’s DCF and APD. Finally restored to competency, if only barely so, he stood before the court charged with a third-degree felony, punishable by a maximum of five years of imprisonment. At that time, the law did not count time in a competency restoration facility as jail time. When his case was called, Judge Foxman asked me what plea deal I wanted to offer the defendant. I told him that I was really struggling with the idea of adding jail or prison time onto seven years of placement in a locked facility that was deemed civil, not criminal. Judge Foxman inquired about possible probation. I really had trouble with that, too, because a violation of probation could trigger jail or prison time. Strictly speaking, I could ask for a sentence of punishment, not treatment, but the defendant had, in effect, already served a seven-year court-ordered sentence. We ultimately agreed that the court had the authority to order continued psychological treatment on an outpatient basis through HRS, with court supervision, but I just could not square any additional potential custodial time with the Department of Corrections. I had sworn an oath of my office to seek justice, not vengeance. Putting a barely competent defendant on probation was nothing more than slow prison time, as the old prosecutor’s joke goes. After Judge Foxman entered the order of continued HRS supervision, I offered time served, as I recall, and the criminal case was closed.
For the vengeful FlaglerLive commenters among us, please use intellectual rigor before commenting on complex cases involving mental and intellectual disability or autism issues. Do not equate an incompetent defendant with a competent one. I always knew that I didn’t possess the power to determine competency, just as I always knew that, as an officer of the court, I had the privilege of arguing either for competency or incompetency, depending on my role in the court system. Judges decide competency to proceed to trial, within a defined statutory framework, and no one else has the power to do such work.
Nancy N. says
The premise you are positing is false. This is not an either/or situation where we have to make a choice to lock up one of these individuals and the only possible choice is which one of them it will be. It’s possible to not lock up BOTH of them. Not to mention, the question you propose people answer is laden with blatant racism…as the non-racist answer to the question should be that neither of them is inherently more threatening based on appearance alone. But white society has long demonized large black men as threatening, with comparisons to animals and myths about super-human strength. Even people who don’t think of themselves as “racist” will continue to harbor unconscious biases created by these social messages.
Debra Burgess says
Are discriminated someone against because of their size or is it race????????????
Atwp says
Isn’t this the American way. Whites do wrong and get away with it. Black men not si much. Young bksck men please stay out of trouble.
TR says
No one gets away with breaking the law when they are caught regardless of ones skin color, gender or anything else that is different between humans. But you won’t believe that because of all your racist comments. Just looking at the number of people that got arrested today alone 10 people got arrested for breaking the law. Two were black and 8 were white, so I guess you have it backwards with your comment.
http://inmatesearch.flaglersheriff.com/NewWorld.InmateInquiry/FL0180000/
Just put in today’s date for “Booking Date From” and hit search.
DaleL says
Johnson did not knock anyone unconscious. She is not accused of beating a helpless victim. A quick internet search did not turn up any prior mention of Reba Johnson committing other offenses.
Willford, based on this story, had a single felony incident, when he attacked three teachers and administrators. He satisfied his 18 months of probation without additional issues.
However, Depa has three prior misdemeanor battery charges on his juvenile record. Depa knocked Naydich out. He continued beating the woman as she lay unresponsive on the floor. As Depa was being led away, he threatened to kill Naydich. In addition, from this story: “Depa and Burns got into a fight, and Depa admitted to being the aggressor.”
Based on the information in this story and some quick internet searches, Brendan Depa appears to me to be a dangerous individual. Far more dangerous than any of the “comparisons” in this story. I agree with Brian says: “Which one of these people, if allowed to walk free, presents the greatest threat to civilized society?”
Someone says
That’s easy, based upon society standards, the one that is the darkest will always be looked upon as the most dangerous regardless of priors. It’s amazing that superlatives justifies danger. Each individual battered a school board official. However, they are dealt different cards. I digress.
Jason says
Female student punches teacher in the back. No physical injuries.
Male student beats teacher and puts her into the hospital with severe injuries. Male student later physically assaults another inmate and admits to being the aggressor.
One of these individuals is most certainly dangerous and it has nothing to do what that persons race. It has everything to do with that persons actions and the impact they have on the victims.
Unfortunately, Mr. Depa has a history of violence while the individuals that he is being compared to in this article do not. Ignoring that history would simply leave more innocent people to be victimized.
alloveragain says
I won’t say it is a racial issue, because we wouldn’t even know about if Flagler live did not post this, however I will say it has a lot to do with what the problem is in this district with the school system and local law enforcement. The sheriff jumped all over this because it was presented to him on a silver platter and he is all about grand standing before the media, so when the district raised the flag about how traumatizing this incident was with Depa tagged with the school video footage, then of course it would be rated higher in the news. the other issue is the relationship with ECHO. this district is all of sudden acting surprised by this group, when they have taken their kids into the school system non stop sometimes without even doing safety vetting on what’s best for the campus environment. a lot of these kids don’t belong in a normal school environment, but this district is so cheap just take a look at their non existent alternative school that don’t officially admit to having but send kids there on the back side of the high school in small worn down trailers packed in like sardines and most of the kids are predominately all black kids that they don’t want on their campus. but they still won’t admit that they need an alternative campus for these kids to continue their education , because they don’t want to spend the money. Depa and Johnson are basically the same and suffer from almost the same issues, yet Depa is deemed a monster because of his size and skin color and Johnson is deemed worthy of an excuse for her behavior because the judge feels as though talking to her would get him no where. what a joke.. this district needs to do better
Ben Hogarth says
Mixed feelings on this one, but it’s evident how deficient the “system” remains with dealing with persons with disabilities and/or competency issues. Restoration of competency is a wonderful “idea,” but it’s simply not possible in every case – which is not exactly a secret and isn’t something psychologists don’t already know. Clinicians don’t determine “competency” which is referred to as a “global assessment.” It’s a legal determination made by a court following others. Doctors assess something called “faculty” or “capacity.”
But for the benefit of the public at large that may be confused by this entire chain of events, I think it’s imperative we do a better job explaining what “competency” and “capacity” mean, and why it’s important.
It was clear from the clinical comments that this young woman cannot be restored to a level of competency for trial. The reason? Her current faculty and mental capacities are highly “unlikely” to be increased beyond their current levels. This indicates that clinicians feel very strongly that restoring her faculties to a point of competency requisite for court proceedings is unlikely and probably would not be consistently determined by multiple therapists over multiple assessments.
So what does the judge decide? The only logical and legally feasible thing – dismiss the charges as they are currently and let this girl return to her family in another state.
Steve says
There was one major difference in this case. The one teacher was badly beaten and wound up in a hospital and I believe one of her injuries is not going away, not to mention the large medical bills she is paying through a Go Fund Me site. The other teacher was unharmed.
I’m not saying prison is the right place for the second student. Perhaps an institution to treat his mental issues would be appropriate. But the point is that these cases were not totally alike.
William Stonehocker says
I have autism and what was Reba upset about that led her to attacking her teacher? I know Abigail from Fathering Autism is non-verbal, but even Abigail wouldn’t do this.