State jury convicts David DePape in attack on Nancy Pelosi’s husband

The man who attacked Rep. Nancy Pelosi’s husband with a hammer during a break-in at the couple’s San Francisco home was found guilty by a jury Friday on all counts in the state case against him.

David DePape has already been convicted on federal counts in the Oct. 28, 2022, break in and attack on Paul Pelosi, and DePape was sentenced to 30 years in prison in that case.

“We are truly all grateful for Mr. Pelosi’s physical recovery, and hope that this verdict can allow them to rest a little easier as they move forward,” San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins said after the guilty verdict was returned Friday afternoon.

The jury found DePape guilty of aggravated kidnapping, first-degree burglary, false imprisonment, threats against an elected official or their family, and preventing or dissuading a witness by force or threat, Jenkins said.

Nancy Pelosi, the former Speaker of the House, was in Washington, D.C., at the time of the break-in and was not hurt.

Paul Pelosi testified during the federal trial that he was awakened by “a very large man” with a hammer and zip ties on the day of the break in who asked “Where’s Nancy?”

Paul Pelosi managed to call 911 and police when DePape was not looking. Officers arrived and found DePape and Pelosi with hands on the hammer that DePape was wielding. Officers commanded to drop the hammer, and DePape then struck Pelosi on the head.

Pelosi, then 82, suffered a fractured skull.

The aggravated kidnapping sentencing conviction means that DePape could be sentenced to more time than he has received federally.

That charge, when it accompanies great bodily injury, mandates life in prison without parole, Jenkins said.

In the state trial, San Francisco Public Defender Adam Lipson told jurors in closing arguments that DePape had been living a solitary life and had gone “down the rabbit hole of propaganda and conspiracy theories” before the break-in and attack, The Associated Press reported.

During the state trial Lipson told the jury DePape was guilty of three of the charges but that prosecutors had not presented evidence to convict him on threatening a family member of a public official and aggravated kidnapping.

DePape was convicted in November in the federal case on assault and attempted kidnapping charges and was sentenced in May.

Jenkins said that her office has not decided on a recommendation for sentencing, but that they would consult with the Pelosi family and file a sentencing brief in the future.

A sentencing date has not yet been set.