Man who leapt at judge over court bench in vicious attack is sentenced to 26 years
The man who leapt over a court bench at a judge during his trial in a viral video has been sentenced to 26 years in prison.
On 3 January, Deobra Redden, 31, viciously attacked Las Vegas District Court Judge Mary Kay Holthus as she was sentencing him in another case.
Holthus was about to deliver Redden's sentence for a felony battery charge when the violent scene unfolded, which saw the 62-year-old being shoved off her chair as Redden flung himself over the desk.
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The video shows the defendant jump on top of her and pushed her against a wall as security attempted to diffuse the situation, with the situation leading to three people being injured, according to NBC News.
Thankfully, Holthus was not hospitalised, but did suffer some injuries, for which she received medical attention.
She made her return to court on 4 January, NBC News reports.
Steve Wolfson, Clark County District Attorney, said at the time: “Thank God the judge is okay. Thank God for the heroic efforts of those who came to her aid, especially her marshal and her law clerk.
“Without them, the situation would have been much worse as this defendant exhibited extremely violent behaviour and I’m confident there will be consequences."
On Tuesday (10 December), Redden’s lawyers asked District Court Judge Susan Johnson for his sentence to go along with the current prison sentence he was already serving.
Redden’s attorney, Carl Arnold, asked for that time period to be around 4-11 years, however, Judge Johnson decided to give the defendant an aggregate prison term of 26-65 years.
“It was not just retaliation or an attack on Judge Holthus,” Johnson said. “It was also an attack on the judiciary.”
“I’m not a bad person, I’m not an evil guy,” Redden told Johnson before she sentenced him.
“I’m not making excuses for my actions, but I’m saying I’m not a bad person and I know that I did not intend to kill Mary Kay Holthus, I know I cared about her wellbeing.”
Meanwhile, Holthus was not present in court but did provide a statement.
“He made a conscious decision to kill me and made every effort to succeed,” the statement read. “If he had his way, he’d be facing a sentence of life without the possibility of parole for murder.”
Recalling the incident at the start of the year, law clerk Michael Lasso helped get Redden off the judge.
He told ABC: "I don't necessarily know how big he is or strong he but I know he's definitely a bigger guy.
"That's part of the reason why it was so impressive that he was able to clear the bench because I know I wouldn't be able to.
"I just thought when he first hopped over that desk, he was going for the door. When he didn't go for the door and instead he starts charging the judge, I was just in shock and I reacted.
"I don't even want to think about what would have happened if I wasn't here. Once we were able to get the defendant off the judge, the judge immediately went under the desks, kind of trying to protect herself."
Anish Vij