Supreme Court reinstates acquittal of former Baton Rouge teacher accused of threatening family with gun
BATON ROUGE, La. (BRPROUD) — The Louisiana Supreme Court reinstated an acquittal for a former Baton Rouge physical education teacher accused of hitting a family’s car with a bat and flashing a gun at the driver who passed her home during a 2016 flood.
Bridgette Digerolamo, 42, who was a former P.E. teacher at Broadmoor Elementary School, was found guilty of three counts of aggravated assault in February 2023. In February 2024, the jury returned with the verdict of not guilty on all charges for Digerolamo.
According to court documents, in February 2024, the judge reversed the not guilty ruling and changed it to guilty after asking for Digerolamo and the court to return.
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The Louisiana Supreme Court stated that “after receiving a final verdict and retiring the jury, the trial court erred by allowing the jury to continue to deliberate and change its verdict, particularly after the court violated the sanctity of any further deliberations by meeting privately with the jury.”
A separate judge listened to the objections and filed for a mistrial, according to court documents.
The Louisiana Supreme Court stated that “the trial’s court order declaring a mistrial is reversed, and the jury’s verdict finding defendant not guilty is reinstated.”
Digerolamo originally was arrested and charged in 2020 with three counts of aggravated assault with a firearm, which was downgraded to misdemeanor charges of aggravated assault at a trial.
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