A heartbroken Arizona father-in-law lost it in open court this week, charging across a Phoenix courtroom and raining punches on the shackled killer of his Army veteran relative after spotting the man laughing during sentencing.
Alberto Ontiveros-Sanchez, 55, had just finished an emotional victim-impact statement begging a judge to lock Abel Uribe away for life. Seconds later, he pivoted, lunged at the defense table and smashed Uribe, already in handcuffs and leg chains, four or five times in the back of the head.
Chaos exploded. Bailiffs piled on. The judge ordered the courtroom cleared. “Counsel, counsel, take your folks outside. Everyone outside. Get out,” she shouted as staff wrestled Sanchez to the floor.
Uribe, 33, was there to be sentenced for the December 2022 murder of David Navidad-Parra, a 27-year-old West Point graduate and U.S. Army captain. Navidad-Parra was helping sell a family car when Uribe took him on a test drive, shot him, robbed him and later set the vehicle on fire. Police found the young officer’s body with his pockets turned inside out. Uribe was busted shortly after trying to use the victim’s credit card.
Nearly four years later, Uribe took a plea. The deal: life in prison with a shot at parole after 25 years on the murder count, plus additional time on kidnapping and other charges. After the melee, the hearing resumed. Uribe apologized to the family. The judge hit him with the maximum available under the agreement.
Sanchez’s lawyer said his client simply snapped.“He was very emotional and came back and saw that the defendant who was there to be sentenced was laughing, snickering, and he lost it,” attorney Christian Lueders told a judge hours later. Sanchez has no prior record, has lived in the country legally for more than 30 years and works to support his family. “He’s been a model citizen for his entire life,” the lawyer added.
The judge showed sympathy but drew a hard line.“I personally can’t imagine the emotions that you must have been feeling today, but we cannot tolerate that kind of conduct in court,” she said, according to local reports. Sanchez was booked on felony aggravated assault of a bound or restrained victim, plus misdemeanor counts of disorderly conduct and interfering with a judicial proceeding. He was released on his own recognizance. The Maricopa County Attorney’s Office recused itself because prosecutors were witnesses; Gila County is now reviewing the case.
Sanchez’s son later told reporters his father regrets the outburst and doesn’t want to talk about it. Family attorney comments emphasized the “immeasurable pain” the family has carried since Navidad-Parra’s death.
Courtroom video of the attack has raced across social media. Many viewers sided with Sanchez, arguing any parent or in-law would have done the same after watching a killer smirk through a family’s grief. Others pointed out the obvious: punching a restrained defendant in front of a judge is still a crime, no matter how raw the pain.
Sanchez had asked the court for the maximum. “I am asking for the gentleman who did this. For him to be in jail for life. Not doing so would be to not do justice,” he said from the podium just before he charged.
Uribe is now serving that life term. Sanchez is waiting to learn whether prosecutors in another county will pursue him for the punches that stopped a sentencing in its tracks.
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