DELTONA, Fla. – A woman accused of attacking a Deltona Middle School resource deputy in November 2024 is now seeking to change her plea from no contest to not guilty.
Dagmarie Aponte Iturrino appeared in court on Tuesday for a hearing where her new defense attorney questioned her former lawyers about their previous legal counsel.
The case stems from an incident where Aponte and her husband, Jorge Rivera, allegedly attacked a school resource deputy during a meeting about their son’s behavior. The deputy suffered a concussion in the altercation, which was captured on body camera footage.
[WATCH: Bodycam video shows husband, wife attacking deputy at Volusia middle school, officials say]
Rivera has since been released, while Aponte continues to pursue changes to her legal defense. The hearing was adjourned when one of Aponte’s former attorneys failed to appear in court.
Judge McNeilly rescheduled the proceedings for February 13 at 9 a.m., where the court will hear arguments regarding Aponte’s request to change her plea.
Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood expressed concerns about the handling of the case. “They came to that school torqued up and they weren’t going to take no for an answer,” Chitwood said. “This could have turned out a hell of a lot worse. And I got news for you, if it wasn’t the deputy attacked it would have been the principal or another teacher.”
[WATCH: Volusia sheriff rips judge after deputy gets attacked at school (from 2025)]
The sheriff criticized what he characterized as lenient treatment of the couple by the judge.
The next hearing will focus on Aponte’s arguments for changing her plea to not guilty.