LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — The man who attacked a judge in a Las Vegas courtroom on Wednesday refused to show up to court Thursday and remains in jail.
As the 8 News Now Investigators first reported, Deobra Redden, 30, a three-time felon, was in Clark County District Court Judge Mary Kay Holthus’ courtroom for sentencing on a charge of attempted battery with substantial bodily harm. As Holthus was getting ready to sentence Redden to prison time, he lunged over the bench and attacked her.
On Thursday, Redden refused to show up for his initial appearance in the same building where the attack happened the day before.
The Clark County District Attorney’s office requested Redden be held without bail. However, Pro-Tem Judge Lauren Diefenbach said that she was not comfortable arguing about bail without Redden present. Bail remained at $54,000.
In the state of Nevada, a defendant can work with a bail bond company to post 15% of the bail amount. In Redden’s case, this would be $8,100. Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson disagreed with Diefenbach’s decision.
“I’m disappointed,” Wolfson said. “We asked for a no-bail setting. We asked that he be detained because we believe that he is a danger to the community,” Wolfson said. “The world has seen what happened yesterday and this person’s behavior in court and I’ve almost seen nothing else like this, so we believe he is an extreme danger to the community.”
On Wednesday, a court spokesperson said that security protocols would be reviewed.
Redden, who appeared in court with his mother, has three felony convictions and nine misdemeanor convictions on his record, according to documents the 8 News Now Investigators obtained.
Holthus was about to deny Redden’s probation request when Redden ran up to her, jumped over the bench, and attacked her, a video shared with the 8 News Now Investigators showed. Several other people then fought with Redden before throwing him to the ground.
A witness who was in the courtroom on Wednesday described the attack to 8 News Now Investigators one day later.
“It was just a total chaotic commotion,” Daniel Martin expressed. “Honestly I was super surprised like I’ve never seen anything like that in my whole life, that looked like something out of the NFL or something like that.”
Martin said he wanted to help the judge, but his public defender told him to stay back.
“I was in conflict cause as a natural man you want to protect a woman,” Martin added.
Redden was booked into the Clark County jail on new charges of battery and battery on a protected person. One count of the battery-on-a-protected-person charge indicated the victim was “substantially harmed.”
A court spokesperson said Holthus’ injuries were “being monitored.” A marshal was taken to a hospital. He was listed in stable condition as of Wednesday afternoon, a spokesperson said.
Redden was due in court again on Jan. 9.
