It was a long emotional day of testimony on Tuesday as a judge heard from several people before reaching his verdict for Brenda Dippa. The judge says what happened was a senseless act of violence, but his mother says her son does not belong in the prison system.

They're punishing that he is black. They're punishing that he is large, and they're punishing his disability.

That was Leanne Dippa's reaction after her son, Brenda, was sentenced to five years in prison, followed by 15 years of probation. Brenda was a special student at Matanzas High School who was caught on camera attacking his teacher's aide, Joe Nadich, until she was unconscious in 2023. His mother says one of his triggers is electronics, and during the incident, she says his Nintendo Switch was taken away. She says her son has autism and suffers from several mental health disorders.

Over that time period, he was on 17 different cocktails of medications because of all the professionals involved.

Brenda's defense attorney said he he should be tried as a juvenile because he was 17 when the incident happened. But the state argued, Brenda had so much history of violence, something the judge mentioned when he sentenced Brenda as an adult. The judge said this wasn't an isolated incident and that Brenda had numerous battery charges in the past. The judge also pointed out that Brandon never said he was sorry.

I saw no concern for Ms. Nadish's injuries, and Mr. Dettmer has never expressed not even a single bit of remorse before this court in any of our many court proceedings.

Nadish was escorted out of the courtroom right after the sentencing. The judge says Dippa can appeal his sentence and can do it in writing. Dippa is ordered to have no contact with Nadish.. In Flagler County, Paola Trisneruda, Washington News.

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