Las Vegas, Nevada — A defendant in a felony violence case climbed over a defense table and the judge’s bench, landing on her and triggering a violent battle involving court officials and attorneys, according to officials and witnesses.
Clark County District Judge Mary Kay Holthus fell back from her seat against a wall and received some bruises but was not hospitalized, according to courthouse authorities.
According to officials and witnesses, a courtroom marshal was also hurt while assisting the judge and was hospitalized for treatment of a gushing cut on his forehead and a dislocated shoulder.
The incident happened at 11 a.m. inside the Las Vegas Regional Justice Center.
Several court and jail officials and courtroom staff workers, including several who are seen throwing blows, wrestled the defendant, Deobra Delone Redden, 30, to the floor behind the judge’s bench.
He was arrested and detained at the Clark County Detention Center, where records show he is facing a slew of additional criminal charges, including violence on a protected person (the judge and court personnel).
“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.
Redden’s defense attorney, Caesar Almase, did not immediately respond to requests from KLAS and The Associated Press for 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, 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 Redden in the courtroom audience.
Records showed that Redden, a Las Vegas resident, 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. He previously served prison time in Nevada on a domestic battery conviction, state records show.
Holthus, a career prosecutor with more than 27 years of courthouse experience, was elected to the state court bench in 2018 and again in 2022.
In a statement, court spokesperson Mary Ann Price said officials were “reviewing all our protocols and will do whatever is necessary to protect the judiciary, the public and our employees.”
“Thank God the judge is OK,” Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson said in a statement quoted by KLAS. “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.”
