Paul Pelosi hammer attacker David DePape receives maximum sentence of 30 years in prison
David DePape, the man convicted of a brutal hammer attack on Paul Pelosi, husband to former House Speaker and Rep. Nancy Pelosi, at the couple’s California home, received a sentence of 30 years in prison on Friday.
DePape was sentenced to the maximum 30 years on one count and 20 on a second, which are to be served concurrently. DePape gave no reaction as the judge read his sentence. A victim impact statement was read in court by Christine Pelosi, the couple’s daughter.
Rep. Pelosi is in Washington, D.C. and did not attend the sentencing. The Pelosi family released a brief statement after the sentence was handed down.
“The Pelosi family couldn’t be prouder of their Pop and his tremendous courage in saving his own life on the night of the attack and in testifying in this case. Speaker Pelosi and her family are immensely grateful to all who have sent love and prayers over the last eighteen months, as Mr. Pelosi continues his recovery,” the statement read.
(Left) Paul Pelosi and Nancy Pelosi attend the Pre-GRAMMY Gala. (Right) David DePape. (Michael Short/ San Francisco Chronicle )
DePape was convicted last year of attempted kidnapping of a federal official and assault on the immediate family member of a federal official. Prosecutors had asked Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley for a 40-year prison term.
The attack on then-82-year-old Paul Pelosi was captured on police body camera video just days before the 2022 midterm elections.
DePape admitted during trial testimony that he broke into the Pelosi home on Oct. 28, 2022, intending to hold the then-Speaker hostage and “break her kneecaps” if she lied to him. He also admitted to bludgeoning Paul Pelosi with a hammer after police showed up at the San Francisco home, saying his plan to end what he viewed as government corruption was unraveling.
Defense attorneys said DePape was motivated by his political beliefs and caught up in conspiracy theories.
Nancy Pelosi was not at home at the time of the October 2022 incident.
PAUL PELOSI ATTACK SUSPECT DAVID DEPAPE FOUND GUILTY IN FEDERAL TRIAL
A courtroom sketch depicts the trial of David DePape in Federal Court in San Francisco, California on Tuesday, November 14, 2023. DePape testifies while being shown the hammer used in the alleged attack on Paul Pelosi. (Vicki Behringer)
From custody, DePape called the KTVU newsroom. In the call that was also played out during the trial, he said he had “an important message for everyone in America – you’re welcome.”
Prosecutors said a medical examination at the hospital showed Paul Pelosi “suffered two skull fractures that had to be repaired in emergency surgery, along with a wound to his arm and his hand, which were also treated in surgery by specialized surgeons.”
DAVID DEPAPE WEEPS ON STAND, APOLOGIZES TO PAUL PELOSI FOR HAMMER ATTACK
At trial, “a neurosurgeon who performed the surgeries testified that one of the skull fractures narrowly missed a vein that if lacerated would have caused life-threatening blood loss,” the motion said.
Paul Pelosi also testified at trial, recounting how he was awakened in the middle of the night by a large man bursting into his bedroom and demanding, “Where’s Nancy?” Pelosi said that when he told the man his wife was in Washington, DePape said he would tie him up while they waited for her.
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“It was a tremendous sense of shock to recognize that somebody had broken into the house, and looking at him and looking at the hammer and the ties, I recognized that I was in serious danger, so I tried to stay as calm as possible,” Pelosi told jurors.
DePape also faces state charges of assault with a deadly weapon, elder abuse, residential burglary and other felonies. Jury selection for that trial is scheduled to start May 22.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
