In a shocking turn of events, a defendant launched an assault on a Nevada judge during his sentencing for a felony battery case, leaping over the bench at the Las Vegas Regional Justice Centre. Clark County District Judge Mary Kay Holthus suffered injuries but wasn't hospitalized, while a courtroom marshal also sustained injuries and was treated for a bleeding gash on his forehead and a dislocated shoulder.
Deobra Delone Redden, the defendant, 30, was wrestled to the floor behind the judge’s bench by several court and jail officers and courtroom staff members — including some who are seen throwing punches.
He was arrested and detained at the Clark County Detention Centre, where records reveal he is facing a slew of new felony charges, including battery on a protected person (the judge and court officers).
“It happened so fast it was hard to know what to do,” said Richard Scow, the chief county district attorney who prosecuted Redden on a case that stemmed from an arrest last year on allegations that Redden attacked a person with a baseball bat.
