00:00It was a long emotional day of testimony on Tuesday as a judge heard from several people
00:05before reaching his verdict for Brendan Depa.
00:08The judge says what happened was a senseless act of violence, but his mother says her son
00:12does not belong in the prison system.
00:15They're punishing that he is black, they're punishing that he is large, and they're punishing
00:20his disability.
00:21That was Leanne Depa's reaction after her son Brendan was sentenced to five years in
00:26prison followed by 15 years of probation.
00:29Brendan was a special needs student at Matanzas High School who was caught on camera attacking
00:33his teacher's aide, Joan Adich, until she was unconscious in 2023.
00:38His mother says one of his triggers is electronics and during the incident, she says, his Nintendo
00:42Switch was taken away.
00:44She says her son has autism and suffers from several mental health disorders.
00:49Over that time period, he was on 17 different cocktails of medications because of all the
00:56professionals involved.
00:58Brendan's defense attorney said he should be tried as a juvenile because he was 17 when
01:03the incident happened.
01:04But the state argued Brendan had so much history of violence, something the judge mentioned
01:09when he sentenced Brendan as an adult.
01:11The judge said this wasn't an isolated incident and that Brendan had numerous battery charges
01:15in the past.
01:16The judge also pointed out that Brendan never said he was sorry.
01:20I saw no concern for Ms. Adich's injuries and Mr. Depa has never expressed not even
01:28a single bit of remorse before this court in any of our many court proceedings.
01:35Adich was escorted out of the courtroom right after the sentencing.
01:38The judge says Depa can appeal his sentence and can do it in writing.
01:42Depa is ordered to have no contact with Adich.
01:45In Flagler County, Paola Trisneruta, Wash2 News.
01:49Thanks for watching.
01:50Stay updated about breaking news and top stories on the NBC News app or follow us on social
01:56media.
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