By Kanishka Singh
(Reuters) – A Nevada man who vaulted over a judge’s bench in a Las Vegas courtroom to attack her in January has been sentenced to decades in prison, according to court records.
Deobra Redden, 31, was sentenced on Tuesday to between 26 and 65 years in prison over the attack on Judge Mary Kay Holthus, of Clark County District Court. Holthus, 62 at the time, sustained injuries but was able to return to work.
Citing mental illness, Redden pleaded guilty in September to attempted murder and other charges. He said in court on Tuesday he did not intend to kill Holthus, according to KLAS-TV.
The sentence was handed down by Judge Susan Johnson of the Eighth Judicial District Court for Clark County. Johnson said the man’s actions amounted to “an attack on the judiciary.”
The violence in January unfolded in chaotic scenes captured on courtroom video.
Footage showed Redden jumping head first over the judge’s bench as she attempted to scramble out of the way. Two men and a uniformed court officer tackled and punched Redden, as he yelled expletives and hurled punches before being dragged away.
Holthus looked stunned as she emerged from behind the bench.
The attack happened as the judge was about to sentence Redden in January to a 2023 battery charge to which he had pleaded guilty. He was later sentenced to 19 to 48 months over that charge.
Redden also served prison time after he was found guilty of attempted theft in 2019 and then in 2021 for domestic battery, online court records showed.
(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing by Sandra Maler)
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