Clark County District Judge Mary Kay Holthus came under a violent attack on Wednesday in a Las Vegas courtroom by a defendant in a felony battery case. He launched at her as she delivered her sentence.
The assailant, identified as Deobra Delone Redden, 30, leapt over a defense table and the judge’s bench, landing on the judge and triggering a chaotic brawl involving court officials and attorneys.
The shocking scene, captured on courtroom video, showed Judge Holthus falling back from her seat against a wall, sustaining injuries, though courthouse sources claim not sufficient to require hospitalization.
The incident occurred around 11 a.m. at the Regional Justice Center in Las Vegas.
Redden was not in custody when he arrived at court Wednesday. He wore a white shirt and dark pants asking the judge for leniency while describing himself as “a person who never stops trying to do the right thing no matter how hard it is.“
“I’m not a rebellious person,” he quietly pleaded with the judge, adding that he doesn’t think he should be sent to prison. “But if it’s appropriate for you then you have to do what you have to do.”
As the unimpressed judge began to read her sentencing and it was clear she was headting to convict Redden, and the court marshal was moving to handcuff him, noting prepared anyone about what was to come.
A calm Redden with a quiet demeanor abruptly yelled insults at the judge, then charged forward, leaping cross desks straight on to the female judge, knocking her off the judge’s seat to the ground — amid screams from courtroom audience.
A courtroom marshal who came to the judge’s aid was also injured and hospitalized for a bleeding gash on his forehead and a dislocated shoulder.
“It happened so fast it was hard to know what to do,” said Richard Scow, the chief county district attorney who was present in court.
Redden was later subdued by several courtroom staff members and jail officers, who wrestled him to the floor behind the judge’s bench, but not without much fight.
Court records indicated that Redden, previously arrested on allegations of attacking a person with a baseball bat last year, faced prosecution led by Chief County District Attorney Richard Scow.
Redden’s defense attorney, Caesar Almase, did not respond to later calls seeking his comment.
Records indicate Redden, a Las Vegas resident, had been evaluated and found mentally competent to stand trial. He pleaded guilty in November to a reduced charge of attempted battery causing substantial bodily harm. Before this, he had served prison time in Nevada for a domestic battery conviction, state records show.
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