Prosecution rests in state trial of Paul Pelosi attacker

SAN FRANCISCO - Prosecutors in the state trial of David DePape, the man already convicted in federal court, for attacking Paul Pelosi with a hammer, rested their case on Tuesday.

In his federal trial, DePape was sentenced on May 17 to 30 years behind bars for the attack on Pelosi, the husband of former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

State prosecutors are pursuing attempted murder charges against DePape, and used his testimony from that federal trial against him, including his description of the moments Pelosi tried to wrestle the hammer away from him.

"I reacted and tried to swing at him, said DePape. "I had to pull the hammer away from him."

"Did you hit him," asked prosecutors.

"Yes," replied DePape.

Defense attorney and former prosecutor Randall Knox has been watching the trial from the sidelines, and says that testimony will be challenging for the defense.

"It's great for the prosecution," said Knox. "I'm sure the defense has anticipated this. I imagine they're going to probably try to use the same defense that was used in federal court; that he was delusional and had no intent to kill."

As the prosecution drew to a close, attorneys played DePape's call to KTVU's Amber Lee, where he said he was sorry for not getting more of them before he was arrested. Prosecutors also introduced Pelosi's medical records following the attack.

The jury in this case is dismissed until Friday. For the next two days, the judge and attorneys on both sides will debate whether the judge should issue a summary judgment and whether some of the charges should be dismissed.