- September 9, 2024
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Brendan Depa was sentenced to five years in a state prison, followed by 15 years probation. Photo by Sierra Williams
Joan Naydich as she hears the judge's decision to sentence Brendan Depa to five years in state prison. Photo by Sierra Williams
Circuit Court Judge Terrance Perkins. Photo by Sierra Williams
Brendan Depa's mother, Leanne Depa, as she she hears her son's sentence. Photo by Sierra Williams
Circuit Court Judge Terrance Perkins with Assistant State Attorney Melissa Clark and defense attorney Kurt Teifke. Photo by Sierra Williams
Kimberly Spence, an expert witness for the defense. Photo by Sierra Williams
Defense attorney Kurt Teifke. Photo by Sierra Williams
Assistant State Attorney Melissa Clark. Photo by Sierra Williams
Leanne Depa. Photo by Sierra Williams
Brendan Depa with defense attorney Kurt Teifke. Photo by Sierra Williams
Dr. Julie Harper, a witness for the defense. Photo by Sierra Williams
The former Matanzas High School student who attacked a paraprofessional was sentenced on Aug. 6 to five years in a state prison and 15 years of supervised probation.
Circuit Judge Terrance Perkins said that testimony from three PhD professionals about, for both the state and defense cases, have reiterated that the defendant, Brendan Depa, needs structure and routine to deal with his multiple mental disorders. But, he said, Depa also has a history that shows a progression of aggression.
“Stability, safety, routine will be the earmarks of the court sentence in this case,” Perkins said.
Depa, 18, will receive credit for the 18 months he has been incarcerated since his February 2023 attack on former MHS paraprofessional Joan Naydich. For his probation, Perkins directed Depa be placed in a group home “getting the treatment he needs,” including medication and continued mental health assessments.
“Once Mr. Depa is stabilized, the court would consider home healthcare options,” Perkins said.
Depa was facing up to 30 years in prison, though Perkins had the option to sentence Depa to juvenile sanctions because of his age at the time of the attack. He was 17 at the time of the incident and charged as an adult with aggravated battery on an educational employee.
In the case’s May 1 hearing, Naydich, testifying as a witness for the prosecution, Assistant State Attorney Melissa Clark, said the attack left her with five broken ribs — three of which were broken twice over — as well as a concussion, hearing loss, vision loss, vestibular problems, rotator cuff issues and a herniated disc.
Over a year later, Naydich said she still has trouble with her memory, as well as hearing and vision losses are likely to be permanent. She also has been diagnosed with PTSD and regularly experiences panic attacks.
It’s where this is what I have to live with."
— JOAN NAYDICH, victim
“It’s where this is what I have to live with,” she said in her May 1 testimony.
Perkins said he had “no confidence” that the Department of Juvenile Justice would handle the case appropriately.
Depa underwent a competency hearing in March 2023, where Perkins found him competent to stand trial. The 18-year-old then entered an open plea in October, leaving sentencing in the hands of the judge.
Depa’s defense attorney Kurt Teifke was advocating for Depa to be sentenced to Department of Juvenile Justice sanctions, citing that the Department of Corrections’ mental health services were insufficient to help Depa when the goal of its services is just to get an inmate stabilized for general population.
“I think, given the circumstances, the exceptional circumstances here, his age and these other factors, I think it favors juvenile treatment,” Teifke said.
The second day of Depa’s sentencing hearing began with the defense’s witnesses, which included several special education and treatment professionals and testimony from Leanne Depa, Brendan Depa’s mother.
I don't think he'll survive prison."
— LEANNE DEPA, Brendan Depa's mother
Leanne Depa said that she had reservations about allowing Depa to attend a public school because that had failed when he was younger. But, she said, when Depa went to stay at East Coast Habilitation Options in Palm Coast in November 2020, the facility required he be enrolled in a public school system.
After the February attack, Depa’s behavioral team, consisting of Leanne Depa, psychologists, behavioral analysists and other ECHO and school staff, held a manifestation meeting to determine how the events unfolded. Leanne Depa said the group concluded the attack was a manifestation of his disabilities.
“These were all targeted behaviors, and it was obvious that his behavioral plan had not been followed,” she said.
Kimberly Spence, who is an expert in the field of autism and specialized treatment, said Depa’s records showed that, historically, his behavioral plans were not followed.
On May 1, Naydich testified that Depa’s school-designed behavioral plan, which outlined the triggers for his disorders and how to deal with them, was never made available to her. Spence said that it was inappropriate and even “dangerous” for Naydich to have been working with Depa but not had those plans available.
It doesn't appear that some of these places were consistent in implementing his behavior plan."
— KIMBERLY SPENCE, specialized treatment expert
Incarcerating Depa, Spence said, will not change the factors that led to the attack she said. Depa needs a team of people providing mental health treatment like cognitive behavioral therapy and ongoing counseling.
“There are several things that need to happen that will not happen in a prison setting,” she said.
Leanne Depa pleaded with the court to let her son come home with her.
“I don’t think he’ll survive prison,” she said.
But Depa would age out of the DJJ’s purview at 21 and Perkins said he felt that the two-year time frame — as Depa turns 19 in September — would not be enough, considering Depa’s history with violence incidents and the violence of his attack on Naydich and the lack of remorse shown to the court for his actions.
“What would have happened had that Mr. Depa not been pulled off her, I don't want to even imagine,” Perkins said.
In cross examination of the defense’s expert testimony, Clark argued that Depa had been receiving some forms of the structured treatment and care at residential facilities since November 2019, when Depa was sent to a residential facility in South Carolina.
But Spence disagreed that Depa actually received “a level of adequate treatment.”
“In the records, it doesn't appear that some of these places were consistent in implementing his behavior plan and providing the kind of instruction that was likely needed,” Spence said.
But the prosecution’s argument — which Perkins agreed with while giving his sentencing statement — was that the Depa would only be under the DJJ’s purview for two years before essentially, as a legal adult, being released onto his own recognizance.
He almost killed a woman, he should be punished for that."
— MELISSA CLARK, assistant state attorney
That only guarantees Depa would receive treatment for two years, regardless of the commitment his family made to continue treatment when Depa left the facility. An adult sentencing, Clark argued, would allow the court to require that Depa receive treatment for, through incarceration and through the probation period afterward.
Clark said that while Depa should receive care for his, he should also be punished for his actions against Naydich.
“He almost killed a woman, he should be punished for that,” Clark said. “…Everybody wants to see Mr. Depa succeed, but first we need to deal with what he did.”
