Florida delivers cocky, violent teen who viciously attacked female teacher his comeuppance

The large male high school student who was caught on camera assaulting a teacher’s aide over taking his handheld gaming device has been named, as he will be charged as an adult.

Brendan Depa is reportedly the 17-year-old student who is accused of brutally assaulting Joan Naydich, the 57-year-old teacher’s aide who took his Nintendo Switch during school hours. Despite being a minor at the time of the alleged crime, he has been identified because the Seventh Judicial Court of Florida has transferred the case to an adult court. The suspect is currently being held on a shocking $1 million bond and faces a felony charge of aggravated battery which can carry of sentence of up to 30 years if found guilty.

According to documents acquired by Daily Mail, Depa faced three other battery charges in 2019 prior to the events caught on video February 26. He had reportedly completed a Department of Juvenile Justice program, but clearly, the effects didn’t stick.

Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly supports the decision to charge Depa as an adult, even saying that the alleged assault “could have been a homicide.”

“This student is just six months shy of age 18, and it was also a brutal attack on this teacher. Fortunately, this didn’t result in a fatality,” Staly remarked. “This could be a homicide we are talking about.”

Naydich has reportedly been released from the hospital after the savage attack, and is recovering at home with her family.

As American Wire previously reported, Naydich had taken the Switch from the student before surveillance video captured him rushing her, flinging her to the ground and rendering her unconscious. From there, the assailant proceeded to beat and kick the teacher’s aide before he was finally pulled off of her.

Following his arrest, the student reportedly doubled down on his behavior in statements to law enforcement, where he said he would “beat her up” if she tried to take his toy from him again. He even went as far as to reportedly threaten her life.

“The actions of this student are absolutely horrendous and completely uncalled for,” said Staly in a statement at the time. “We hope the victim will be able to recover, both mentally and physically, from this incident. Thankfully, students and staff members came to the victim’s aid before the SRDs could arrive.”

Sierra Marlee

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