The man who attacked Nancy Pelosi’s husband with a hammer will not face some state charges due to double jeopardy, the California Court of Appeals ruled.
David DePape was convicted of federal charges in the 2022 attack on Paul Pelosi, who was 82 years old at the time of the incident. DePape was 42.
DePape burst into Pelosi’s bedroom in the middle of the night, brandishing a hammer and zip ties.
He demanded to know the whereabouts of Nancy, who was the Speaker of the House of Representatives at the time. Pelosi said that she was in Washington. DePape said he would tie Pelosi up, but he didn’t, and Pelosi managed to call 911.
Police officers testified that when they arrived, DePape was holding the handle of the hammer, and Pelosi was holding the head.
DePape bashed Pelosi’s head with the hammer twice before police subdued DePape. Pelosi suffered a concussion and a fractured skull.
When police asked how he entered the house, DePape pointed to a hole in the glass door on the porch. He also had a pair of backpacks on the porch.
DePape dislocated his shoulder, so police interviewed him in the hospital. He said he had planned to hold Nancy Pelosi hostage and film a conversation with her. He said he would let her go if she told the truth and “break her kneecaps” if she lied.
The federal court convicted DePape of the attempted kidnapping of Nancy Pelosi and the assault of her husband and sentenced him to 30 years in prison.
In the state court, DePape was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole on the following charges:
- Aggravated kidnapping
- Residential burglary
- Threatening the life of a family member of a government official
- Dissuading a witness by force or threat
However, the trial court agreed with DePape that the charges of attempted murder, elder abuse, and assault should be barred based on double jeopardy.
The state appealed, but the California Court of Appeals affirmed the decision in an opinion written by Justice Marla Miller.
“The physical conduct required to prove the charge of attempted murder—striking Pelosi’s head with the hammer—was the same physical conduct required to prove the federal assault charge,” she wrote, “even though other elements of the charged offense—intent to kill, premeditation, deliberation—were not required for the federal offense, and even though the penalty for the state offense exceeds that for the federal one.”
Justice Tara Desautels wrote a partially dissenting opinion.
“First, the federal assault did not require proof that DePape’s hammer swing was one direct but ineffective step toward killing another person. Second, the federal assault did not require proof that in acting, DePape intended to kill Paul Pelosi. And third, the federal assault did not require proof that the hitting with a hammer was willful, deliberate, or premeditated,” she wrote.
“Moreover, elder abuse … requires proof of the additional elements that Pelosi be an elder and that DePape knew or reasonably should have known that he was 65 years or older at the time of the infliction of harm,” Desautels added.
