‘Airborne defendant’ leaps over bench, attacks Vegas judge during court hearing recorded on video

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Criminal Justice 'Airborne defendant' leaps over bench, attacks Vegas judge during court hearing recorded on video

By Debra Cassens Weiss

January 4, 2024, 9:55 am CST

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A man who pleaded guilty to attempted battery with substantial bodily harm attacked a Las Vegas judge who was sentencing him Wednesday. Image from Shutterstock.

A man who pleaded guilty to attempted battery with substantial bodily harm attacked a Las Vegas judge who was sentencing him Wednesday.

The video shows defendant Deobra Delone Redden, 30, leaping into the air, flying over the judge’s bench and landing on the judge. A Politico headline described Redden as an “airborne defendant.”

Other publications with coverage include the New York Times, the Associated Press, the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the Washington Post, USA Today, KSNV and the New York Post.

The Clark County, Nevada, judge, 62-year-old Judge Mary Kay Holthus, was injured and being monitored, a court spokesperson told the New York Times. A marshal who was injured was taken to the hospital. KSNV reported that the marshal needed stitches to his head. The marshal also suffered a dislocated shoulder, according to AP.

The first person who came to Holthus’ aid was a man in a suit sitting beside her. In a longer video posted by the AP, the same man is shown punching Redden as another man in a suit tries to subdue him. Redden is shown throwing punches at this same time at a person who is outside the video frame.

One of the people trying to subdue Redden was Chief Deputy District Attorney Jory Scarborough, Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson told the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

“Thank God the judge is OK,” Wolfson said in a statement cited by the New York Post. “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 behavior, and I’m confident there will be consequences.”

Redden has been charged with battery, battery on a protected person and battery on a protected person resulting in substantial bodily harm.

Redden had sought probation, telling the judge that he had mental health problems, but he was “a person who never stops trying to do the right thing—no matter how hard it is.” His lawyer, Caesar Almase, said Redden had been diagnosed with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

Redden attacked Holthus after she indicated that he would be sentenced to prison. Redden previously spent time in prison for attempted theft and domestic battery.

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