SAN FRANCISCO (CN) — David DePape, accused of assaulting 83-year-old Paul Pelosi with a hammer, filed a motion to access and inspect the crime scene Wednesday afternoon as the judge in the federal case against him set a trial date of Nov. 9.
DePape, 43, is accused of breaking into the Pelosi home through a window and carrying zip ties. Police say he later told them he was looking for former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
DePape’s public defender Angela Chuang asked U.S. District Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley for access the crime scene and to allow her to take her own photos and measurements, and inspect elements of the crime scene with an investigator and her co-counsel. DePape would not be present if the inspection is allowed.
“I don’t believe the photos in discovery showed every part of the house,” Chuang told Corley.
Chuang said the photos in discovery and the police body camera footage do not accurately show the context of how the house is oriented or the spaces between rooms.
Looking at the crime scene will be important, Chuang said, because Paul Pelosi is expected to testify during DePape’s trial.
“If Mr. Pelosi testified to something that could not be true, we’d be unable to impeach him or cross-examine him,” Chuang said.
Chuang said the defense does not want to rely on the government to figure out what happened, preferring to do their due diligence and draw their own conclusions.
“These movements are important because those are the events that culminate in the police arriving,” Chuang said.
Chuang said the sketches of the floor plan provided to her by government agents are not to scale.
Corley at times appeared unmoved by Chuang’s requests, questioning why DePape’s defense team needed to enter the Pelosi home and if it was material.
“It sounds like what you really need is a floor plan to scale,” Corley said.
Prosecutor Helen Gilbert argued that it does not matter what the defendant requests because Corley does not have authority to order the inspection. Gilbert said DePape’s defense already has enough to go on and suggested police body camera footage could be used in lieu of an inspection.
“This is the home where Paul Pelosi was assaulted and lying with his blood pooling. Allowing the defendant into their home is an extreme, extreme violation of their privacy,” Gilbert said.
Privacy rights are not absolute, Chuang argued, especially in a case like DePape’s.
“It’s not enough to say that just stepping into the house violates privacy,” Chuang said.
As for Gilbert’s body camera suggestion, Chuang said, “Body camera footage is not meant to accurately document a space. It’s jerky, a lot of it is obscured. And you can’t measure it from a video.”
Corley declined to rule on DePape's request from the bench, saying she needed to think about it and give her “best stab at it.” But she also said siding with the government could create appellate issues in the future.
In the meantime, she set jury selection for Nov. 6, and the first day of trial will be Nov. 9. Paul Pelosi’s first availability in the trial is Nov. 13.
On July 19, the Joe Biden appointee rejected DePape's bid to move his trial to Eureka, in the extreme northwestern corner of California. DePape’s team argued that he would not receive a fair trial in San Francisco because of Nancy Pelosi’s popularity in the city, where she serves the 11th Congressional District — including most of San Francisco.
DePape has pleaded not guilty to federal charges of attempting to kidnap a federal official and assaulting a federal official’s family member. He has also pleaded not guilty to state charges of attempted murder, burglary, and elder abuse.
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