Nevada judge attacked by defendant during sentencing in Vegas courtroom scene

LAS VEGAS– Moments after a defendant in a battery case tried to convince a Nevada judge that he was turning around his violent past and didn't need to be locked up, his conviction went sideways: He jumped over a defense table and the judge's bench and landed on top of her and led to a bloody brawl with court officials and lawyers.

Wednesday's violent scene was captured on courtroom video, in which Clark County District Court Judge Mary Kay Holthus fell back from her chair into a wall as the defendant threw himself over the judge's bench and grabbed her hair , causing an American flag to fall on them. The judge suffered some injuries but did not need to be taken to the hospital, court officials said.

The defendant, Deobra Delone Redden, was ordered held on $54,000 bond and refused to return to court Thursday on new charges. Therefore, a judge postponed his next appearance to January 9. Redden, 30, faces 13 charges, including extortion and coercion by force. Seven of the new charges relate to a protected person, referring to the judge and officers who came to her aid.

Redden had to be wrestled away from the judge on Wednesday by several court and prison officers and courtroom staff – including some who threw punches. One marshal in the courtroom was hospitalized for treatment of a bleeding gash on his forehead and a dislocated shoulder.

“It happened so quickly that it was hard to know what to do,” said Richard Scow, the county's chief prosecutor, who prosecuted Redden for allegedly attacking someone with a baseball bat last year.

Redden's sentencing was not immediately rescheduled.

Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson said the suspect's criminal record is characterized by mostly violent crimes and includes prior convictions for three felonies and nine misdemeanors. He said Redden should be held without bail as “an extreme danger to the community and a flight risk.”

“He's been violent his entire adult life,” Wolfson said.

Redden's attorney, Caesar Almase, declined to comment Thursday.

Redden was not handcuffed or jailed during the sentencing hearing because he had been released from custody as part of a deal with prosecutors in which he pleaded guilty in November to a reduced charge of attempted battery causing substantial injury. He was initially charged with the baseball bat attack with a deadly weapon, court records show.

On Wednesday, he wore a white shirt and dark pants as he stood next to his lawyer and asked the judge for leniency, describing himself as “someone who never stops trying to do the right thing, no matter how hard it is.”

“I am not a rebellious person,” he told the judge, later adding that he does not think he should be sent to prison. “But if it's appropriate for you, then you have to do what you have to do.”

When the judge made it clear she intended to put him behind bars, and the court marshal moved to handcuff him and take him into custody, Redden shouted expletives and charged forward — amid the shouts of people standing with him had been in the audience in the courtroom. including his foster mother.

Records show Redden, who lives in Las Vegas, was evaluated and found competent to stand trial in the battery case before pleading guilty to the reduced charge. He previously served prison time in Nevada on a domestic battery conviction, records show.

Holthus was a career prosecutor with more than 27 years of court experience when she was elected to the state court in 2018.