The Nevada man who launched himself at a judge who was about to sentence him to prison will spend at least the next year-and-a-half behind bars — and that doesn’t include any time he might serve for his now-viral attack.
Deobra Redden, 30, took a flying leap at Clark County Judge Kary Kay Holthus during Redden’s sentencing hearing for an attempted battery guilty plea on Wednesday, Jan. 3. In video of the attack, Holthus indicated that she was going to send Redden, who has a criminal record, to prison. The judge wasn’t seriously injured in the attack and returned to the bench the next day — ordering Redden to be brought to court for sentencing “by any and all means necessary” for sentencing on the attempted battery charge.
Redden did appear before Holthus on Monday, wearing several restraints: his face was covered by a mask, he was shackled, and his hands appeared to be covered by protective padding.
At Monday’s hearing, Holthus was clear that the “sole purpose” of the appearance was to finish last week’s sentencing hearing. Any issues stemming from that incident, the judge said, will be “handled at a future date by a different court.”
Left: Deobra Redden looks to the gallery before appearing before Clark County District Court Judge Mary Kay Holthus for sentencing on Jan. 8, 2024. Right: Clark County Judge Mary Kay Holthus. Center: Redden is seen leaping over barriers in an apparent attempt to attack Holthus on Jan. 3, 2024, shortly before Holthus was set to sentence Redden on a separate attempted battery charge. (Images via Law&Crime.)
Holthus emphasized that she is “not changing or modifying” the sentence she intended to issue last week before she was “interrupted,” and said her calendar page from that day indicating her intended sentence will be made part of the record.
She ultimately sentenced Redden to 19 to 48 months in prison. Redden, who was surrounded by several guards during the hearing, didn’t appear to make any moves or respond.
Redden attacked Holthus as she was preparing to send him to prison after he pleaded guilty to an attempted battery charge stemming from an incident in November.
Deobra Redden is seen jumping over a table and charging Clark County District Judge Mary Kay Holthus on Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2024 (Screengrab via KLAS).
“I think it’s time he get a taste of something else, because I just can’t, with that history,” the judge says. As she begins to issue her sentence, a voice — apparently Redden’s — is heard off-screen.
“No, f— that, b—-!” he says. A stunned Holthus is seen diving behind her desk as Redden launches his entire body in the air toward her. He does make contact but is quickly pulled off and eventually subdued by law enforcement and courtroom staff, who are seen throwing punches at the defendant, who continued to fight and struggle while hurling insults at the judge.
A courtroom marshal was hospitalized for a deep gash to his head and a dislocated shoulder, according to Las Vegas ABC affiliate KTNV.
After the sentencing, Redden’s family members said that he had suffered from mental illness, including schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, his entire life.
“He was basically born with mental illness,” his sister Ladonna Daniels said. “Deep inside he’s a good person, he’s just not had the opportunity in life to be surrounded by positive people, meaning his own family.”
Daniels said that she could see that her brother “felt betrayed” because he had pleaded guilty and was starting to get his life back on track and that when Holthus indicated that he would go back to prison, he was “triggered.”
“He was triggered because he seems to have been pleading for his freedom,” Daniels said, later adding: “I think when the judge said I think it’s time you had a ‘taste’ of something,’ it became a trigger, and in his mind, he felt threatened.”
Daniels also said that she believed that anyone with a “fight or flight” mechanism could have physically made the leap that her brother did.
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