A grieving father-in-law had just finished asking a judge to put his son-in-law’s murderer away for life.

Then he walked back toward the gallery, saw the convicted killer laughing at the defense table and snapped.

Video from the Maricopa County courtroom shows Alberto Ontiveros-Sanchez pivot toward Abel Uribe, charge the defense table and hammer him with several punches before officers drag the two men apart.

The explosive moment was captured from inside the courtroom:

The confrontation came during Uribe’s sentencing for the 2022 murder of David Navidad-Parra, a 27-year-old Army veteran and West Point graduate.

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Navidad-Parra had been helping sell a car when he met Uribe for what was supposed to be a routine test drive. Instead, police say the meeting turned into a robbery and murder.

FOX 10 Phoenix reports that Ontiveros-Sanchez, 55, had just delivered an emotional victim-impact statement when he headed back toward his seat. Court records say he then rushed the defense table and struck Uribe four or five times in the back of the head while Uribe was restrained with handcuffs and leg chains.

The judge ordered the courtroom cleared as officers moved in. The sentencing was halted until deputies restored order, and Ontiveros-Sanchez was taken into custody.

His attorney later told the court that the grieving father-in-law lost control after seeing Uribe laugh and snicker moments after the family’s statement.

A local reporter’s video shows the chaos and confirms that Uribe’s sentencing resumed after the disruption:

The killing that brought the family into that courtroom began on December 16, 2022.

A Phoenix Police Department advisory says officers found Navidad-Parra on the ground near 45th Avenue and West Coronado Road with a gunshot wound. Firefighters pronounced him dead at the scene.

Police connected his death to a missing-person call involving a private vehicle test drive. Investigators later learned that a vehicle found burning in Glendale was tied to the homicide, and detectives identified and arrested Uribe the following day.

Authorities said Uribe later tried to use the murdered veteran’s credit card. He eventually pleaded guilty to first-degree murder, kidnapping, armed robbery and several related crimes.

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Uribe was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of release after 25 years on the murder count, followed by a consecutive 20-year term for kidnapping.

The accusation that Uribe laughed immediately after the family’s plea helps explain why a devastated father-in-law suddenly exploded, even if it does not erase what happened next.

A second angle of the courtroom video captures officers rushing to stop the attack as Ontiveros-Sanchez keeps trying to reach the defense table:

Ontiveros-Sanchez now faces allegations including aggravated assault of a restrained victim, fighting and interfering with a judicial proceeding. A judge released him on his own recognizance.

Arizona’s Family reports that the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office declared a conflict and referred the matter to Gila County for review. Prosecutors there have not announced whether they will file charges.

Ontiveros-Sanchez’s son said his father regrets what he did. His attorney described him as a dedicated husband, father and grandfather still carrying the crushing grief of Navidad-Parra’s murder.

The judge acknowledged the family’s crushing grief. She also made clear that violence inside a courtroom could not be tolerated.

Uribe still left the courthouse facing the sentence the family demanded: decades behind bars for taking the life of a young Army veteran who was only trying to help sell a car.

The courtroom attack lasted only seconds. The loss that drove it has been with the family for nearly four years.

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This is a Guest Post from our friends over at WLTReport. View the original article here.

 

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