The case against David DePape, the man accused of attacking Paul Pelosi with a hammer in Pelosi's San Francisco home, will go to trial, a San Francisco Superior Court judge ruled Wednesday.
DePape will be arraigned Dec. 28 on charges including attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon, elder abuse, false imprisonment of an elder, first-degree burglary and threatening the family member of a public official. He pleaded not guilty to all charges. DePape could face a life sentence if convicted.
The judge ruled at Wednesday's preliminary hearing that prosecutors had presented sufficient evidence to move forward with a trial — evidence that included body camera footage, as well as testimony from an officer who first responded to the 911 call and an investigator who said DePape had a "hit list" that included actor Tom Hanks, California Gov. Gavin Newsom and President Biden's son Hunter Biden.
At the hearing, a San Francisco police officer who was one of the first two to arrive at the scene of the Oct. 28 incident, reportedly testified he saw DePape strike Pelosi with a hammer. DePape’s intended target was allegedly Pelosi's wife, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
The court saw body camera video from the officers that included audio of one officer telling DePape to "drop the hammer," to which he replied, "Uh, nope," before allegedly swinging the hammer at Pelosi and being tackled by an officer. And San Francisco Police Sgt. Carla Hurley, who interviewed DePape the day of the attack, spoke of his alleged “hit list” targets besides Nancy Pelosi.
I'm not trying to get away with this. I know what I did.David DePape
The interview also was played in court, per news reports. In it, DePape accused Democrats of tampering with former President Trump’s campaign and said he had planned to kidnap Speaker Pelosi. He said he did not regret his actions.
"I'm not trying to get away with this," he said. "I know what I did."
The 911 call, played in the courtroom and transcribed by KRON4 News, suggested Pelosi did not know DePape before the attack, disputing conspiracy theories online that were amplified on Twitter by Chief Executive Elon Musk.
The dispatcher asked, "Do you know who the person is?" Pelosi responded, "No, I don't know who he is."
In the October incident, DePape allegedly broke into the Pelosis' San Francisco home and assaulted the 82-year-old man with the hammer, fracturing his skull and seriously injuring his right arm and legs, according to authorities. Nancy Pelosi was in Washington, D.C., at the time.
A separate federal case against DePape is ongoing, in which DePape pleaded not guilty to assault and kidnapping charges.
He told police in the interview after the attack that Speaker Pelosi was the “leader of the pack” of lies told by the Democratic Party, according to the federal indictment. DePape had hoped to hold her hostage, interrogate her and break her kneecaps, authorities said.
It was announced last month that San Francisco County Superior Court Judge Stephen Murphy would be taking over the criminal case against DePape, according to Randy Quezada, communications director for the San Francisco district attorney’s office.
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
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