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A man who assaulted a Las Vegas judge this year when he jumped over the bench and knocked her into a wall has been sentenced to up to 65 years in prison, according to his defense attorney.
Deobra Redden, 31, was in Clark County District Court on Jan. 3 to be sentenced on an attempted battery charge when he leaped toward Judge Mary Kay Holthus, sparking a struggle between him and court officials.
The dramatic incident was captured on court cameras.
On Tuesday, he was sentenced to 26 to 65 years in prison for the courtroom attack, his attorney, Carl Arnold, said Wednesday.
Redden said at the hearing that he did not remember much about the day he assaulted the judge and that he is not an evil person, Arnold said.
Holthus testified during Redden’s trial that she feared for her life when he leaped over her bench and desk and landed on her.
She received medical attention but was back in court the next day. Holthus’ marshal was treated for a head injury, and her law clerk sustained abrasions in the assault.
After the attack, Redden told corrections officers that he had had a bad day and tried to kill the judge, according to a Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department document.
Redden pleaded guilty but mentally ill to attempted murder and five other charges linked to the attack, Arnold said.
Arnold said in a statement after the plea that his client’s deal with prosecutors “reflects a delicate balance between accepting responsibility for a regrettable incident and recognizing the impact of Mr. Redden’s untreated mental illness at the time.”
Arnold told jurors Redden had not taken prescribed medication to control his diagnosed schizophrenia.
When he pleaded guilty, Redden was serving prison time for other felony battery convictions. The guilty pleas ended his trial.
Redden also pleaded guilty to battery of a protected person age 60 or older resulting in substantial bodily harm, intimidating a public officer and battery by a prisoner.
In the moments before the January attack, Redden told the court he was working and was “in a better place in my mind,” court video showed, according to NBC affiliate KSNV of Las Vegas.
“I feel like I shouldn’t be sent to prison, but if it’s appropriate for you, then you gotta do what you gotta do,” he said.
Source: NBC News
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