Teenager who knocked out his teacher was arrested THREE times for assault and will be charged as an adult

A teenager accused of punching and kicking his teaching assistant in a row over a Nintendo Switch will be charged as an adult, after being arrested for assault three times in 2019.

Brendan Depa, 17, may be appointed for the first time after Florida’s Seventh Judicial Court ruled that he would be transferred to adult court.

He is facing one count of aggravated assault, a felony, after he attacked Joan Naydich, 57, at a Matanzas high school on February 21.

The 6’6′ student was caught on camera brutally beating the ‘humble’ mother of two until she was knocked unconscious, with Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly warning it ‘could have been homicide’.

He knocked Naydich to the ground before kicking and punching the unconscious woman at least 15 times in the back and head.

Those convicted of aggravated assault in Florida face up to 15 years in prison, as well as 15 years of probation and up to $15,000 in fines.

According Fox 35 NewsDepa was charged with assault three times in 2019 before the attack this month.

He previously completed a Department of Juvenile Justice program, with Sheriff Staly supporting the decision to charge him as an adult in the latest incident.

According to the state attorney’s office, Depa ‘actually and intentionally touched or struck (the victim) against (her) will and in doing so used a deadly weapon, and/or intentionally or knowingly caused great bodily harm, permanent disability , or permanent disfigurement.’

Sheriff Staly said, “This student is only six months shy of his 18th birthday, and it was also a brutal attack on this teacher.” Fortunately, this did not result in a fatality.

It could be a homicide we’re talking about.

Naydich has since been released from the hospital and is recovering at home after being beaten by Depa.

He has a son who is attending high school and a daughter who graduated in 2013. Nayditch has worked for Flagler County Schools since 2004 and in Matanzas since 2021.

Joan Naydich, 57, of Palm Coast, (pictured with her son Morgan) was thrown to the ground and rendered unconscious Tuesday at Matanzas High School.

In surveillance footage, released by the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office, the heavyset 17-year-old student from Palm Coast can be seen running towards Naydich before throwing her across the room.

She hits the ground headfirst, knocking her unconscious. The special needs student immediately begins kicking her before kneeling down to punch her head and torso.

Joan Naydich’s body flew several feet before she was knocked unconscious. The student had said that he would “hit her every time she took the game away from him.”

TO GoFundMe because the teacher has raised nearly $60,000 and described her as “humble” and says she “never asks for help,” adding that she “needs love and support during this difficult time.”

In surveillance footage, released by the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office, the burly student can be seen running towards Naydich before throwing her across the room, her body flying several feet.

She hits the ground head first, knocking her unconscious, and the special needs student immediately kicks Naydich before kneeling down to punch her in the head and torso.

Another woman runs up to the student and grabs his arm, but is unable to pull him away from the assistant before several others rush to pull him away.

Even after they manage to push him to the ground, he still extends his leg to hit Naydich a few more times.

Five staff members are needed to restrain him and get him away from his body while he was fighting them.

Depa claimed he would “hit her every time I took the game away” and spat at Naydich as officers escorted him away, according to the arrest report.

In body cam footage, the student can be seen asking officers if he is “going to jail,” while being handcuffed at school.

The mother of two (pictured together) has a son, a senior, who is attending high school and a daughter who graduated in 2013. She has worked for Flagler County Schools since 2004 and has worked in Matanzas since 2021

It took five staff members to hold and drag the boy away from Naydich’s body as he fought them.

The student was arrested and taken to the Sheriff Perry Hall Inmate Detention Center, before being turned over to the Department of Juvenile Justice.

‘For how long?’ the students asked. “I don’t know,” the officer replied.

Moments later, he told the officers: ‘Fuck you, I don’t want to go to jail. I have more important things to do’, before accusing them of mistreating him.

According to Fox, there used to be a school dedicated to troubled teens in Flagler County, for students who struggled to function in a traditional classroom setting.

They also include those who had been involved in crime or were considered too violent to attend classes on traditional campuses.

But Flagler County voters did not approve a 50-cent property tax to pay for school in 2013.

Sheriff Staly added: ‘We had a school resource officer assigned to that mini school, if you will, and that has been removed.

‘Maybe this is something the district should consider.’