The defendant who attacked the judge in a wild courtroom video will face her again in Las Vegas
LAS VEGAS– A defendant captured on courtroom video jumping over a judge's bench and attacking her, sparking a bloody brawl, will appear before her again Monday morning.
In his Jan. 3 appearance before Clark County District Court Judge Mary Kay Holthus, Deobra Redden, who faced prison time for a misdemeanor battery charge stemming from an attack with a baseball bat last year, tried to convince the judge that he reversed his violent behavior. past.
Redden asked for leniency while describing himself as “someone who never stops trying to do the right thing, no matter how hard it is.”
But when it became clear that Holthus would sentence him to prison, and as the court marshal handcuffed him and took him into custody, Redden shouted expletives and charged forward. People in the courtroom audience, including his foster mother, began screaming.
Redden jumped over a defense table, dove over the right bench and landed on top of Holthus. The video showed the judge falling against a wall and an American flag falling on them.
Rescue “super-manned the judiciary,” said Jerry Wiese, the court's chief judge, in describing the jump to reach Holthus.
The defendant, who had grabbed the judge by the hair, had to be wrestled off her by her court clerk, Michael Lasso, and several court and jail staff, some of whom threw punches. Lasso was treated for cuts on his hands and a marshal was hospitalized for a dislocated shoulder and a cut on his forehead.
Holthus suffered some injuries, but had to return to work the next day.
Wiese credited Lasso for his quick action, saying he was the “key person” who got Redden off the court “and probably prevented her from sustaining more serious injuries.”
Redden's attorney, Caesar Almase, declined to comment.
Redden was jailed on $54,000 bond in connection with the attack, but refused to return to court the next day on the new charges. So a judge postponed his next appearance in that case to Tuesday. Records show he is accused of, among other things, extortion, coercion by force and assault on a protected person, citing the judge and the officers who came to her aid.
At Monday's appearance, Holthus is expected to continue sentencing in Redden's other case involving the baseball bat attack. He was initially charged with assault, but reached a deal with prosecutors and pleaded guilty in November to a lesser charge of attempted battery causing significant injury.
Redden's criminal record is marked by mostly violent crimes and includes prior convictions for three felonies and nine misdemeanors, District Attorney Steve Wolfson said.
“He's been violent his entire adult life,” Wolfson said.
Redden, 30, had tried to convince the judge otherwise on Wednesday.
“I'm not a rebellious person,” he told her, adding that he didn'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.”
Redden was not handcuffed or wearing prison clothing at the time of the attack because he had been released from custody pending sentencing.