The Gila County Attorney’s Office declined to prosecute a father-in-law who was arrested for aggravated assault after he appeared to attack a man who murdered his son-in-law during the man's sentencing.
Alberto Ontiveros Sanchez, 55, stood at a lectern in Maricopa County Superior Court on the morning of Sept. 23 and lamented the loss of David Natvidad-Parra, 27. According to court documents, Navidad-Parra was shot in the back of the head by Abel Uribe, 33, during the 2022 theft of Sanchez’s Chrysler 300.
After finishing his remarks, Sanchez stepped away from the lectern and began walking toward the gallery before lunging at Uribe and appearing to strike him several times. Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office deputies and others then intervened.
Sanchez was arrested and booked into jail on charges of aggravated assault, a Class 6 felony, as well as misdemeanor charges of disorderly conduct and interfering with a judicial proceeding, according to arrest documents. He was later released on his own recognizance.
The Maricopa County Attorney’s Office had referred the case to Gila County to avoid a conflict of interest.
However, in an Oct. 2 letter, Gila County Attorney Bradley Beauchamp said the office had declined to prosecute Sanchez after reviewing reports, documents, video and audio submitted by law enforcement agencies and the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office.
Beauchamp explained that his declination to file charges were tied to Uribe violating Sanchez's victim rights enshrined under the Arizona Constitution.
"Alberto Ontiveros Sanchez relied on those guarantees when he chose to bear his soul in open court during his victim impact statement only to be mocked by the man who murdered his family member without remorse," Beauchamp wrote. "The conduct of Abel Uribe was so abhorrent that the obvious reaction of Mr. Sanchez, who was already in an emotionally fragile state, would be violence."
Furthermore, Beauchamp explained in the letter "The ends of justice would not be served by punishing Mr. Sanchez for reacting to disorderly words and conduct that most 'men of common intelligence would understand would be likely to cause an average addressee to fight' Chaplinsky v. State of New Hampshire, 315 U.s. 568, 573, 62 S. ct. 766, 770, 86 L. Ed. 1031 (1942)."
After the incident, Uribe was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of release after 25 years, followed by an additional 20-year sentence to be served consecutively.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona father who attacked son-in-law's killer avoids charges
