Man convicted for attacking Pelosi’s husband charged in separate kidnapping case
The man who broke into former Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-Calif.) San Francisco home and violently attacked her husband was convicted Friday of aggravated kidnapping in a separate case.
A jury found David DePape guilty of first-degree burglary, false imprisonment of an elder, threatening a family member of a public official and dissuading a witness, The Associated Press reported.
His aggravated kidnapping conviction mandates life behind bars without the possibility of parole.
Earlier this month, a judge in San Fransisco granted a request from DePape’s defense lawyers to throw out some of the most serious state charges, including attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon and elder abuse.
DePape’s public defender Adam Lipson said he was disappointed with Friday’s verdict and the defendant plans to appeal it, the AP reported.
The attorney claimed the new aggravated kidnapping charge was “vindictive,” because it was handed down after the prosecution found out that the attempted murder charge was being dropped.
Last month in a separate federal trial, DePape was sentenced to 30 years in prison for the attempted murder of Paul Pelosi in October 2022.
Lipson told the AP that Friday’s ruling means DePape will serve 30 years in federal prison and then be transferred to a California prison where he will “spend the rest of his life.”
Pelosi’s husband barely survived the attack, during which he was hit in the head multiple times with a hammer. DePape had planned on kidnapping the then-Speaker, but she was in Washington.
DePape was found guilty in the federal case in November 2023.
During trial, he admitted that Paul Pelosi was never his target, and said he was sorry he got hurt. DePape said in his testimony that his political views shifted after reading comments online about former President Trump.
The defendant blamed the violence on a poor mental state and said he has since reconnected with family and improved mentally.
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