The defense attorney for a special-needs teenager accused of assaulting a teacher’s aide at his Palm Coast, Florida, high school has filed a motion requesting that the court examine his client’s mental competency after the boy’s charges were upgraded recently.
The widely shared video shows 17-year-old Brendan J. Depa assaulting a teacher’s aide named Joan Naydich on Feb. 21 at Matanzas High School.
His attorney, Kurt Teifke, filed a motion on March 3 arguing that Depa is not mentally competent to stand trial and should not be tried as an adult. Depa reportedly is on the spectrum and was being housed at a group home that “helps children, teens and adults with autism, intellectual disabilities, and behavior challenges.”
“Review of pertinent school, medical and mental health records, as well as information learned through the defendant as well as collateral sources (to include family members), leads the undersigned to have a reasonable, good faith belief that the defendant is not mentally competent to stand trial,” read the motion.
The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office claimed that Depa said he attacked the teacher’s aide because she took his Nintendo Switch away during class.
The video shows Depa quickly walk up to Naydich and shove her, which sent her flying and landing on the floor. She appears to be unconscious as Depa kicked her several times and then punched her repeatedly before several other staff members came to stop him.
Initially, Depa was charged “in juvenile court with aggravated battery causing bodily harm or disability, which is a second-degree felony punishable by up to 15 years in prison,” the News-Journal reports.
Local prosecutors have upgraded those charges to first-degree felony, aggravated battery with bodily harm. Depa faces a prison sentence of up to 30 years, and is being held on a $1 million bond.
Sheriff Rick Staly released a statement noting that the teacher’s aide had “severe injuries.”
“Thankfully, students and staff members came to the victim’s aid before the SRDs could arrive,” said Staly. “Our schools should be a safe place — for both employees and students. The actions of this student are absolutely horrendous and completely uncalled for. We hope the victim will be able to recover, both mentally and physically, from this incident.”
An editorial published in local outlet Flagler Live questioned how charging a Black special needs student as an adult when a white special needs child who broke a teacher’s arm at the school was not disciplined in the least is justice.
“We now know that another profoundly autistic student at Flagler Palm Coast High School years ago broke the arm of his teacher and assaulted another autistic child, leaving her bruised,” read the article.
“He was never disciplined nor transferred to the alternative school, which was still open at the time. Why? Because his parents were prominent. Because they were take-no-prisoner advocates for their child, as any parent ought to be,” it continued.
