Jury selection began Monday for a Volusia County woman accused of attacking a school resource deputy during a chaotic confrontation at Deltona Middle School.
Dagmarie Aponte Iturrino is facing felony charges of battery on a law enforcement officer and resisting arrest with violence, along with a misdemeanor charge of disrupting a school function.
The case dates back to November 2024, when Aponte and her husband, Jorge Rivera, confronted Volusia Sheriff’s Office School Resource Deputy Julia Curtin at Deltona Middle School.
According to investigators, the couple was upset after their 11-year-old son was arrested and handcuffed following an incident in which he was accused of pushing another student. The parents also said their son had been bullied.
What began as a verbal confrontation quickly escalated.
Body-camera video captured the chaotic encounter as deputies say Rivera punched Curtin, knocked her to the ground and took her Taser. Curtin then drew her firearm before Rivera was taken into custody.
Aponte was also arrested and charged in connection with the confrontation.
The case has taken several twists since the arrests.
Aponte initially pleaded no contest to the felony and misdemeanor charges. Under an agreement with prosecutors, they were not expected to seek jail time.
However, Aponte later hired a new attorney and asked to withdraw her plea.
During a February hearing, Aponte testified that she did not fully understand her options when she entered the no-contest plea.
“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,” Aponte testified, referring to her former attorney.
Aponte’s former attorney disputed her claims, testifying that he explained the plea agreement and her options, including going to trial.
Judge A. Kathleen McNeilly ultimately granted Aponte’s motion to withdraw her plea, finding that her attorney had established good cause under Florida law. The decision cleared the way for Aponte to take her case before a jury.
Aponte has maintained that she was attempting to de-escalate the confrontation between her husband and the deputy and was not trying to be violent toward Curtin.
Her husband has already resolved his case.
Rivera pleaded no contest and was sentenced to 45 days in jail. The judge withheld adjudication, meaning Rivera was not formally convicted of a felony.
Jury selection in Aponte’s case is expected to begin Monday at the Volusia County Courthouse in DeLand. The trial is expected to last approximately two days.
Jurors are expected to see body-camera video of the confrontation and hear competing accounts of what happened inside Deltona Middle School.
If convicted of the felony charges, Aponte could face up to five years in prison on each third-degree felony count.