A Florida judge who will soon sentence Brendan Depa — the autistic teenager who beat his teacher unconscious over a Nintendo Switch — went easy on two young defendants last week in an unrelated high-profile case.
Judge Terrence Perkins sentenced Gabriella Alo, 18, to six years in prison for brutally beating her terrified teenage victim, then running over a good Samaritan who tried to intervene, according to Flagler Live.
The website reported how Alo had racked up 764 behavior violations in just one quarter at his school before the January attack in Flagler County.
Although prosecutors had recommended 15 years, Perkins – considered a balanced arbiter by local lawyers – said Alo suffered from severe mental health problems and had expressed remorse.
He will now weigh the same considerations in the nationally scrutinized case of Depa, a large teenager who punched and stomped former Matanzas High School teacher Joan Naydich more than a dozen times in February.
While Naydich has lobbied for Depa to face a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison, Perkins has the option of a lighter sentence such as probation.
Gabriella Alo, 18, and her brother, Nicholas, 22, were sentenced last week. Flagler Beach police Alo have handled Kaitlin Dahme twice after the waitress tried to intervene in the attack. Click Orlando
The traumatized teacher said she is still suffering physically and mentally from the beating.
Lawyers for Depa – who hit Naydich after his Nintendo Switch was taken – insisted he had severe autism and other disabilities that mitigated his culpability in the viral attack, which was captured on school surveillance cameras.
Depa’s foster mother, Leane Depa, told NewsNation a prison sentence would be a “death sentence” for her son – and he should not be allowed to go to conventional school.
Alo and his brother, prosecutors said, recorded their January attack in a local park and could be heard laughing and taunting their victim as they kicked and punched him in front of onlookers.
After leaving the scene for some time, they returned and continued the attack.
Meanwhile, a woman and her mother who lived near the scene heard the commotion and stopped to investigate.
Brendan Depa will be sentenced for hitting teacher Joan Naydich in February. Flagler County S Depa could face up to 30 years in prison. Nigel Cook/News-Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK Florida Circuit Judge Terrence Perkins sentenced Gabriella Alo, 18, to six years in prison. @TheFlaBar / X
Mistaking Alo’s car for her brother’s, Kaitlin Dahme, a local waitress, ran towards the fight, thinking her sister was in danger.
Alo then jumped into his vehicle and ran over Dahme twice, breaking his ankle and injuring his leg.
Alo’s brother, 22-year-old Nicholas, was present for part of the beating and was in the car when it hit Dahme. Perkins sentenced him to two years in prison.
With the passage of time and other factors, Gabriella Alo could be dismissed in four years.
Depa, pictured with family members, could face up to 30 years in prison for the attack. Leanne Depa
“I can’t take it back, but if I could take it back, I definitely would,” she said in court through tears, according to Flagler Live. “I want to make better decisions in the future.”
A psychologist testified that Alo had an astonishing number of behavioral incidents prior to the recorded attack.
Both he and his brother have been medicated since childhood — and both have been cited for misconduct behind bars since their January arrests.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
