A 31-year-old man, Deobra Redden, has been sentenced to 26 to 65 years in a Nevada prison after vaulting over a courtroom desk to attack a judge in Las Vegas earlier this year.
Redden, who pleaded guilty but mentally ill in September, faced charges including attempted murder following the January 3 assault on Clark County District Court Judge Mary Kay Holthus. The attack occurred as the judge prepared to sentence him for a separate felony battery case.
Courtroom video captured the dramatic moment Redden leapt over the judge’s four-foot bench, grabbed her hair, and knocked over an American flag. Although Judge Holthus, 62, suffered minor injuries, she did not require hospitalization.
During the trial, Holthus testified about fearing for her life. Redden’s lawyer, Carl Arnold, attributed the incident to untreated schizophrenia, stating that his client had not been taking prescribed medication. Redden expressed regret in court, saying, “I know I did not intend to kill Mary Kay Holthus.”
Judge Holthus called the plea agreement a balance between accountability and acknowledgment of Redden’s mental health struggles. He will be eligible for parole after 2050.
