LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) – A Clark County District Court judge provided details about the day she was attacked by a convicted defendant during a sentencing hearing.
Deobra Redden is facing a host of charges, including attempted murder, for an incident that went viral after courtroom video showed him leaping at Judge Mary Kay Holthus on Jan. 3. FOX5 obtained a transcript of a Feb. 7 Grand Jury hearing in which Judge Holthus was called as the first witness.
She recounted that Redden told her about “all the great things that he’s been doing” and how he planned to get a job, calling himself “a changed person.” The judge also described him as “super calm.”
Judge Holthus noted that he had been through Mental Health Court twice and graduated but still came “back to the same place.” She said she then began to explain to him that he was going to prison.
She continued by explaining that employees in the courtroom have an unspoken system for preparing in case of an incident when a defendant is remanded into custody.
“The next thing I know, he literally jumped that defense table and flew before I could even, and just slammed me into the wall,” Holthus said. “I don’t know what hit me where.”
She added that the attack came at her “incredibly fast” and she was not expecting it. She said her head slammed into a marble wall behind the bench and that a head injury is still “lumpy and bruised” today.
Holthus said that Redden also grabbed her by the hair and “threw her down backwards.” She described curling up into a fetal position on the ground as her law clerk struggled with Redden.
The judge explained that she was “absolutely terrified” in the moment and believes that she would not have survived the attack without the assistance of her co-workers.
“If they hadn’t been there, I would not be here,” the judge stated. “I was no match. He was absolutely taking me out.”
“If it was just me, I wouldn’t have survived multiple blows to the head which is clearly where we were going with it. So I’m very thankful.”
Judge Mary Kay Holthus, Feb. 7 Grand Jury hearing.
She added that Redden was “very strong” and that he “bunny hopped the defendant’s table like it was nothing.” She also noted that she sits on an elevated bench approximately four feet high, which Redden cleared with ease.
Holthus then told the grand jury about all the injuries she suffered, some of which still bother her today. Multiple photos of those were submitted as Grand Jury evidence.
Redden’s arraignment in Clark County District Court is scheduled for Feb. 29.
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