Man who attacked judge reappears in court for sentence

A man caught on camera leaping over a judge’s bench to attack her last Wednesday in Las Vegas, has been sentenced to up to four years in prison in an unrelated case.

Defendant Deobra Redden, aged 30, was captured on camera vaulting over the judge’s bench of Clark County District Court on 3 January.

He grabbed Judge Mary Kay Holthus by the hair before being pulled off her by courtroom officials.

The sentence handed down yesterday was in connection with a baseball bat attack on a person last year.

Redden stood in court in handcuffs with a mask on his face and orange gloves on his hands, flanked by a group of prison officers.

Redden had not been handcuffed or wearing prison clothing at the time of the attack last week because he had been released from custody while awaiting sentencing.

Ms Holthus was injured in the attack but was back to work the next day.

Courtroom clerk Michael Lasso was treated for cuts on his hands, and a court officer was treated for a dislocated shoulder and a gash on his forehead.

Mr Lasso was credited as being the “primary person” who pulled Redden off Ms Holthus, said Jerry Wiese, the court’s chief judge.

Mr Wiese added that Mr Lasso “probably kept her from having more severe injuries”.

Redden’s defence lawyer, Caesar Almase, declined to comment.

On 3 January, Redden was facing prison time for a felony battery charge stemming from an attack last year.

He had attempted to convince Ms Holthus he was turning around his violent past and had asked for leniency while describing himself as “a person who never stops trying to do the right thing no matter how hard it is”.

But when it became clear Ms Holthus was going to sentence him to prison time, and as the court officer moved to handcuff and take him into custody, Redden yelled expletives and charged forward.

Redden was jailed on 54,000 dollars (€49,279) bail in connection with the attack but refused to return to court the next day on the new charges.

Records show he faces charges including extortion, coercion with force and battery on a protected person, referring to the judge and the officers who came to her aid.

District attorney Steve Wolfson said: “He’s been violent his entire adult life.”