A Clark County judge has sentenced a Nevada man to four years in jail following an incident where the defendant leaped over a judicial bench and attacked her.
The incident was captured on video last week and the suspect has since been shackled and was under close watch on Monday. He appeared before the same judge who handed his sentence to him for a separate crime.
Nevada Court Attack
The Nevada man was facing charges of attempted battery dating to last year which he pleaded guilty to in November 2023. He was previously in court on Jan. 3 for his sentencing when he suddenly stood up and rushed toward the judge.
In a statement, Clark County District Court Judge Mary Kay Holthus said that she was not changing or modifying the defendant's sentence that was originally supposed to be handed against the defendant, who was identified as Deobra Delone Redden.
The suspect was in shackles and was flanked by jail security guards as he had a mask that covered a part of his face and orange mitts on his hands. While the defendant's sentence could last up to four years, he could be paroled in 19 months depending on his behavior in jail and decisions made by a parole board, as per ABC News.
Neither Redden nor his lawyer, Caesar Almase, was asked to speak during the brief court appearance on Monday. The defendant is set to appear before a different judge on Tuesday regarding 15 new felony and misdemeanor charges related to his courtroom incident. He could face decades of imprisonment if he is convicted.
Almase declined to comment outside of court and he will not represent his client on Tuesday because he witnessed the courtroom attack. The 30-year-old defendant had been telling Holthus on Wednesday that he was "in a better place" mentally and did not think he should be sent to prison.
However, when the judge made it clear that she was going to have him imprisoned, he vaulted the defense table and dove over Holthus' bench, on top of her. Video footage showed the judge falling back against a wall and an American flag toppling forward onto the bench.
History of Violent Crime
It was seen that three other people in the courtroom rushed to aid Holthus and pull the defendant away from her. A court clerk repeatedly punched a combative Redden during the incident, according to USA Today.
Following the incident, it was discovered that the judge suffered minor injuries, a clerk suffered cuts to his hand, and a courtroom deputy suffered a gash to his head as well as a dislocated shoulder.
Court records showed that Redden was initially charged with felony assault with a deadly weapon in relation to a baseball bat attack. It was also found that in 2021, the suspect served time in prison after a third offense of domestic battery conviction.
During a news conference on Thursday following the court attack, Chief Judge Jerri Wiese said that Holthus was extremely grateful to everyone who helped during the incident. The court also commended the heroic acts of the judge's staff and law enforcement, said CNN.
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