LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) – A jury seated and opening statements delivered Wednesday afternoon in the trial of a man accused of leaping over the bench to attack a Clark County district court judge. It was a video seen around the world.
On Tuesday, before a jury was seated, Deobra Redden pleaded guilty to six of seven charges. Two other charges were dismissed.
The defendant wearing a suit as the trial began. It’s a different look from the mask and shackles put on him leading up to the trial.
The viral moment caught on courtroom cameras shows Redden leaping “Superman style” across the bench and onto Judge Mary Kay Holthus, according to an indictment read to jurors by the court clerk.
Redden maintains his plea of not guilty, citing insanity.
“I tried to kill a judge today. Those were the defendant’s words mere hours after he violently attacked Judge Mary Kay Holthusthe in this courthouse on January 3,” said the state attorney.
He pleaded not guilty to attempted murder against Judge Mary Kay Holthus in the attack that went viral.
FOX5 confirmed Holthus and a bailiff severely injured are on the witness list to testify in the trial.
Back in January, Redden jumped over the judge’s bench as Judge Holthus was sentencing him to up to 4 years for a 2023 charge of attempted battery with substantial bodily harm.
His attorneys have argued that he has mental health issues and says he suffers from schizophrenia.
Testimony in his case begins Thursday morning.
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