Man Who Attacked News Crew is Sentenced

WWL (New Orleans) Reporter David Hammer and Photojournalist TJ Pipitone were on a mission to uncover a convicted child molester who had been mistakenly released from prison early.

However, while investigating the story, the journalists found themselves in a dangerous situation when they were attacked by a family member of the convicted sex offender.

Hammer and Pipitone remained focused on the story they were covering and went through the legal process to bring their attacker to justice. Now, a year later, the attacker has been sentenced. With recent attacks on journalists in America, including the tragic incident in Orlando about two weeks ago, Hammer spoke out about their experience after sharing his victim impact statement in court.

The journalists were investigating the release of Brian Matherne, a convicted sex offender who had been released early from a 30-year sentence after serving only 22 years. When Hammer reached out to the state to inquire about Matherne's release, he received no response. So he went to the address listed on Matherne's sex offender registry to give him a chance to speak.

When Hammer and Pipitone arrived at the location, they parked on the side of the highway to avoid trespassing on private property. However, they were confronted by the owner of the neighboring property, Bruce Verdin, who turned out to be Matherne's brother-in-law.

Verdin attacked the journalists with a wrench and attempted to hit Pipitone with his truck. Hammer never expected that their work of notifying the community about a child molester would lead to such violence. Verdin was later arrested and charged with three felony counts of aggravated battery and one count of aggravated damage to property.

During the recent sentencing, Verdin's attorney, Garrison Jordan, stated that his client's plea of no contest was not an admission of guilt, but a way to avoid fighting the charges and accepting a probated sentence. Hammer and Pipitone hope that their experience can shed light on the dangers faced by journalists in America and the importance of investigative reporting.

H/T WWL