The “human dart” who went viral for jumping over a bench and attacking a judge in a Las Vegas courtroom has been sentenced to decades in prison.
Deobra Redden was sentenced to 26 to 65 years in prison in Nevada on Tuesday for assaulting Clark County District Court Judge Mary Kay Holthus, according to KLAS-TV in Las Vegas.
In September, Redden, 31, pled guilty but mentally ill to attempted murder and other counts, and his trial ended shortly after Holthus testified that she feared for her life when Redden sprang over her 4-foot-high (1.2-meter-high) bench and landed on her.
The attack occurred on January 3, as Holthus was ready to give Redden’s sentencing in a different felony battery case.
The violent scene was captured on courtroom video, which showed the 62-year-old judge sliding back against a wall as Redden flung himself over her bench and seized her hair, toppling an American flag onto them. According to courthouse officials, Holthus was injured but did not require hospitalization.
Carl Arnold, Redden’s defense lawyer, claims his client was not taking his prescribed medicine to treat his diagnosed schizophrenia at the time of the attack.
Arnold stated in September, when Redden submitted his plea, that it “reflects a delicate balance between accepting responsibility for a regrettable incident and recognizing the impact of Mr. Redden’s untreated mental illness at the time.”
The Associated Press emailed Arnold’s spokeswoman on Tuesday seeking comment on Redden’s sentencing.
According to KLAS-TV, Redden stated in court on Tuesday that he had no intention of killing Holthus.
“I’m not making excuses for my actions, but I’m saying I’m not a bad person and I know that I did not intend to kill Mary Kay Holthus,” he told me.
KLAS-TV reported that Redden will be eligible for parole sometime after 2050.