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Moments after a defendant in a felony battery case tried to convince a Nevada judge he was turning his life around and didn’t need to be locked up, his sentencing went sideways: He leaped over a defense table and the judge’s bench, landing atop her and launching a bloody brawl with court officials and attorneys.
The violent scene on Wednesday was captured by courtroom video showing Clark County District Court Judge Mary Kay Holthus falling back from her seat against a wall as the defendant leaped over the judge’s bench, grabbed her hair and an American flag toppled over them. The judge suffered some injuries but was not hospitalized, courthouse officials said.
The defendant, Deobra Delone Redden, 30, was jailed on $54,000 bail and refused to return to court on Thursday on new charges, so a judge rescheduled his next appearance for Jan. 9.
Redden had to be wrestled off the judge Wednesday by several court and jail officers and courtroom staff members — including some who were seen throwing punches. One courtroom marshal was hospitalized for treatment of a bleeding gash on his forehead and a dislocated shoulder.
“It happened so fast it was hard to know what to do,” said Richard Scow, the chief county district attorney who was prosecuting Redden for allegedly attacking a person with a baseball bat.
Redden’s sentencing was not immediately rescheduled.
Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson said prosecutors are reviewing the courtroom incident to determine what additional charges Redden will face. He said Redden’s criminal record includes three prior felony and nine misdemeanor convictions, mostly for violent offenses, and should be ordered held without bail as “an extreme danger to the community and a flight risk.”
“He’s been violent his entire adult life,” Wolfson said.
Redden’s defense attorney on Wednesday, Caesar Almase, declined Thursday to comment.
Redden was not in custody when he arrived at court Wednesday. He wore a white shirt and dark pants as he stood next to Almase, asking the judge for leniency while describing himself as “a person who never stops trying to do the right thing no matter how hard it is.“
“I’m not a rebellious person,” he told the judge, later adding that he doesn’t think he should be sent to prison. “But if it’s appropriate for you then you have to do what you have to do.”
As the judge made it clear she intended to put him behind bars, and the court marshal moved to handcuff him, Redden yelled expletives and charged forward — amid screams from people who had been sitting with him in the courtroom audience.
Records show Redden, who lives in Las Vegas, was evaluated and found mentally competent to stand trial before pleading guilty in November to a reduced charge of attempted battery causing substantial bodily harm in the baseball bat attack. He previously served prison time in Nevada on a domestic battery conviction, state records show.
Holthus was a career prosecutor with more than 27 years of courthouse experience when she was elected to the state court bench in 2018.
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