A grandfather grieving the heinous murder of his military veteran son-in-law was arrested inside a courtroom located in Phoenix, Arizona after he gave the convicted killer who took away the young man’s life a brutal, but much deserved beat down during what is being called an explosive sentencing hearing. Alberto Ontiveros Sanchez, 55, threw himself at murderer Abel Uribe inside Maricopa County Court around 10:30 a.m.
Sanchez belted Uribe with at least four big punches to the back of his head as the defendant sat waiting to receive his life sentence for the 2022 murder of David Navidad-Parra. Navidad-Parra was only 27 years old at the time he was killed. Christan Leuders, his lawyer, defended Sanchez, saying he was overwhelmed by emotion over the loss of his son-in-law and said he simply “lost it” when he saw Uribe “laughing and snickering.”
“He’s been a model citizen for his entire life,” Leuders told the judge about the character of his client. Leuders then went on to place emphasis on the fact Sanchez has no prior criminal record and works full-time to provide financial and material support for his children and grandchildren. However, the judge decided not to go easy on Sanchez.
“You attacked somebody in a courtroom, and now you’re asking the court to be lenient on you?” Judge Kristin Culbertson asked, according to a report from The New York Post. “I personally can’t imagine the emotions that you must have been feeling today, but we cannot tolerate that kind of conduct in court.” Uribe was in the courtroom that day to receive justice for killing Navidad-Parra, who went missing after taking a car for a test drive.
Navidad-Parra was later found dead and the car he was driving was discovered at a different location after it was torched and charred. Cops nabbed Uribe after he boldly attempted to use Navidad-Parra’s credit card. He was then charged with first-degree murder. Sanchez is now looking at charges of aggravated assault on a bound or restrained victim, fighting, and interfering with a judicial proceeding. He was later released on his own recognizance.
The violent action taken by Sanchez could have other, more serious consequences than he likely imagined. Criminal defense attorney Russ Richelsoph, who isn’t directly working on the case, revealed to AZ Family that the assault charge could be elevated from a misdemeanor to a felony. “So when you assault somebody who’s physically restrained, that can make the assault, make it go from a misdemeanor to a felony assault. So the first thing is, how is Gila County going to charge this?” Richelsoph said.
The attorney also revealed that since Sanchez is a permanent legal resident, the case could impact his legal status in the United States. “That would be what in immigration courts is considered an aggravated felony, an aggravated felony could make somebody immediately deportable,” Richelsoph added. If the charge is kept as a misdemeanor it wouldn’t necessarily mean automatic deportation.
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Featured Image: screenshot from embedded video