VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. – A woman accused of attacking a school resource officer at Deltona Middle School in November 2024 was in court Friday seeking to change her plea from no contest to not guilty.
Dagmarie Aponte Iturrino and her husband, Jorge Rivera, were both arrested after a meeting with the school resource deputy about their son’s behavior.
Body-worn camera video shows the parents and their son in a meeting with the SRD before Rivera begins shouting at the deputy, ultimately escalating into a physical fight.
[WATCH BELOW: Bodycam video shows husband, wife attacking deputy at school, officials say]
The video also shows the SRD being punched in the head, knocked to the ground and having her Taser ripped out of her hand by Rivera, officials said.
The deputy suffered a concussion in the altercation.
On Friday, both Iturrino and her former attorney, Jose Rivas, took the stand during the hearing.
Iturrino and her new attorney argued that she entered the plea by mistake, claiming Rivas misled her and failed to clearly explain all of her options, including going to trial.
During the hearing, Iturrino testified, “He told me that if I pled to the judge that my record could be sealed and I could go back to work like nothing happened.” She also claimed Rivas told her that by accepting the plea she would be admitting to committing the offense but would not be formally convicted.
Rivas denied those claims, stating that he thoroughly explained the plea deal and all of her options, including going to trial, for more than an hour.
“I never heard words for the year and a half I represented her out of her mouth I want to go to trial her concern was I don’t want to go to jail,” said Rivas.
Rivas also said Iturrino did not want to go to trial out of fear of going to jail, but later changed her mind after her husband was sentenced in November following his own no-contest plea.
No decision has been reached yet. The judge said she may consider whether to accept the request to withdraw the plea over the weekend.
Rivera was sentenced to two months in jail shortly after his arrest and has since been released.
Volusia Sheriff Mike Chitwood expressed concerns about the handling of the case.
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“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.”