Vegas man filmed attacking female judge during court hearing is hit with enormous sentence

A Las Vegas man who was filmed throwing himself over a court and lashing out at a judge in January has been sentenced to up to 65 years behind bars for her attempted murder.

Deobra Redden, now 31, was facing sentencing in a separate battery charge on Jan. 3 when he was caught on camera launching himself at Clark County District Judge Mary Kay Holthus.

He was also heard saying: “No, f*** that b****” as he tackled the judge in an attack prosecutors described as “Superman style” after Holthus rejected his pleas for further probation.

Redden ultimately pleaded guilty but mentally ill in September to a slew of charges, including attempted murder of an elderly person, assault on a protected person resulting in substantial bodily harm, intimidating a police officer and committing an unlawful act in connection with human feces or bodily fluids. TThe Las Vegas Review-Journal reports.

His lawyers had argued that Redden has schizophrenia and was not taking medication at the time of the attack, but abruptly ended his trial after Holthus testified that she feared for her life. according to KSNV.

Attorney Carl Arnold said the plea reflects “a delicate balance between accepting responsibility for an unfortunate incident and recognizing the impact of Mr. Redden’s then-untreated mental illness.”

Arnold argued that Redden should serve his prison sentence concurrently with the prison sentence already imposed on him, which he said would range from four to 11 years. KLAS reports.

But prosecutors pushed for substantial prison sentences, and District Court Judge Susan Johnson agreed, calling Redden’s attack on her colleague “an attack on the judiciary.”

Video of the attack shows the at the precise moment when Redden disagreed with Holthus’s mid-conviction. Redden quickly jumped from where he stood, pounced on the judge and took her down.

Although Holthus and others tried to avoid the serial criminal, he managed to throw himself on top of them both as he began aggressively beating the judge.

The sounds of him hitting Holthus repeatedly can also be heard in the video as he yells at her in explicit language.

Court documents about the incident showed that Redden allegedly slammed the judge’s head into the wall, punched her in the head and pulled out chunks of her hair.

To defend herself, Holthus took cover under her desk and “clenched up and covered her face.” The violent incident lasted for several minutes before security officers restrained the mad man.

She was then treated at the justice center before being taken to hospital by a family member due to persistent pain and later released.

Court Marshal Shane Brandon suffered a cut to his face that required 25 stitches and a dislocated shoulder, while Clerk Michael Lasso suffered several minor hand abrasions.

Redden later allegedly told officers that he attacked the judge because he was having a “bad day,” according to court documents viewed by CLASS.

He claimed the ‘judge had it out for me’ and said she was ‘evil’ before apologizing to officers

“I’m sorry you guys had to see that,” Redden said before reportedly asking another officer if what he did was wrong.

But he also allegedly spit in a corrections officer’s face after the incident while still in the courthouse.

Holthus would later give heartbreaking testimony about her experience that day, and in court in September, Lasso shared how he watched as the judge’s head hit the ground and Redden grabbed her hair.

“I definitely thought, ‘He’s going to kill her,'” he testified.

Lasso said he then wrestled Redden away, punched him and tried to subdue him when Redden began punching a corrections officer who intervened.

Still, Redden insisted in court Tuesday that he is “not a bad person.”

“I am not making excuses for my actions, but I am saying that I am not a bad person and that I know I did not intend to kill Mary Kay Holthus,” he told Johnson before sentencing.

“I know I cared about her well-being.” He further claimed that he did not remember much from the day of the attack.

“All I saw was red and I don’t remember doing anything other than jumping on top of her…” Redden claimed.

‘I thought, “Why are you doing this to me?” That’s what I wanted to ask her if I think I knew it myself, but I’m not sure.’

However, prosecutors read a statement on behalf of Holthus in which she again claimed that Redden was trying to commit murder when he attacked.

“He consciously chose to kill me and did everything he could to succeed,” KLAS’ statement said.

“If he had his way, he would receive a life sentence without the possibility of parole for murder.”

Johnson ultimately sided with prosecutors, noting that doctors who evaluated Redden concluded he knew the difference between “right and wrong.”

He will now serve between 26 and 65 years in prison for the attack.

With credit for time served, Redden would have been eligible for parole in the 1950s.