A Las Vegas felon who attacked a judge while she was sentencing him was scheduled to appear in court again.
Deobra Delone Redden, 30, was being sentenced by Clark County District Judge Mary Kay Holthus when he leaped over the defense table and the judge’s bench before landing on her.
Redden, who was facing prison for a felony violence allegation stemming from a baseball bat attack last year, had been attempting to persuade Ms Holthus that he was changing his ways.
The 30-year-old requested mercy, characterizing himself as “a person who never gives up trying to do the right thing no matter how difficult it is.”
“I’m not a rebellious person,” he told the judge, later adding that he does not believe he needs incarceration.
“But if it’s appropriate for you, then you have to do what you have to do.”
According to documents obtained by 8 News Now, when it became evident that Judge Holthus was about to sentence him to prison time and a court marshal went to put handcuffs on him, he ran at the judge, banging her head against a wall and punching her once before tearing part of her hair out.
She then retreated under her desk, “balled up and covering her face,” while he was pulled to the ground by court officials, who were observed unleashing punches.
Because Redden was not in custody at the time of the incident, he was not restrained.
According to the documents, Redden allegedly informed prison officers that he was having a horrible day and wanted to murder her after the attack. He is also accused of saying to an officer, “Judge has it out for me” and “Judge is evil.”
In connection with the attack, Redden was arrested on $54,000 bond and now faces accusations of extortion, coercion with force, and battery on a protected person, referring to the judge and the officers who came to her rescue.
Judge Holthus was injured in the attack but returned to work the next day, according to Chief Judge Jerry Wiese at a press conference on Thursday.
She was scheduled to finish sentence in Redden’s baseball bat attack case on Monday.
The 30-year-old was first charged with assault, but negotiated an agreement with prosecutors and pled guilty in November to a lesser charge of attempted battery resulting in serious injury.
According to District Attorney Steve Wolfson, Redden’s criminal record is distinguished by largely violent offenses and includes past convictions for three felonies and nine misdemeanors.
“He’s been violent his entire adult life,” added Mr Wolfson.