A Department of Homeland Security official confirmed Thursday that the man suspected of assaulting Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband in their California residence last week is in the country illegally.
“U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) filed an immigrant detainer on Canadian nat’l David DePape with San Francisco County Jail on November 1 after his October 28 arrest,” a DHS representative told NBC Bay Area in a statement.
DePape, 42, is being jailed in San Francisco County jail for attempted murder as well as other felony charges after reportedly breaking into the Pelosi residence in Pacific Heights and violently assaulting Paul Pelosi with a hammer. According to court documents, he was hunting for Nancy Pelosi and intended to shatter her kneecaps.
DePape’s most recent known address was in Richmond.
According to the DHS official, DePape entered the United States on March 8, 2008, as a temporary visitor, categorized as a B2 under the Immigration and Nationality Act.
According to the spokesperson, acceptable Canadian tourists who identify themselves as visitors for pleasure or business normally do not need a visa and are generally permitted to the United States for a period of six months.
The San Francisco chief of police provided details on the early morning assault on Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband, Paul Pelosi, in which the suspect, 42-year-old David Depape, struck Paul Pelosi with a hammer in the presence of responding cops.
The representative stated, “ICE puts immigrant detainers on people that have been arrested on criminal charges and also who ICE has reasonable grounds to believe are removable under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA).” The detainer requires that the other dept. of law enforcement notify ICE prior to releasing a removable individual so that ICE can gain custody of that individual in a secure and safe setting.
DePape has pleaded not guilty to the accusations and is set to appear in court again on Friday.
