A 47-year-old Millcreek man who stabbed another man over a methamphetamine dispute will spend up to five years in prison after being sentenced July 30 in 3rd District Court.

Judge Randall Skanchy sentenced Joaquin "Chewy" Alvaro Sanchez to zero to five years for aggravated assault resulting in serious bodily injury, a third-degree felony. Sanchez received credit for 235 days already served in jail.

The stabbing happened near 4150 S. 300 East in Millcreek. According to a police booking affidavit reported by KSL, officers were called to Intermountain Medical Center in the early morning hours of Nov. 24, 2025, after a man arrived with a 5-inch knife laceration.

The victim told police the conflict started Nov. 7, 2025, when Sanchez gave him methamphetamine and pressured him to distribute a large quantity. The man said he refused and disposed of the meth instead, which angered Sanchez.

On Nov. 22, 2025, Sanchez left a voicemail threatening the victim and his family. He said it was "about principle" that he "would come after" them.

Then came the knife.

On Nov. 24, the victim went to a woman's residence near 4150 S. 300 East, where Sanchez came out of a room, threatened him and attacked him with a blade, according to the affidavit.

Sanchez pleaded guilty May 21 as part of a plea deal that reduced the original charge from a second-degree felony to a third-degree felony. Under Utah's indeterminate sentencing system, the zero-to-five-year term means the Utah Board of Pardons and Parole will determine how long Sanchez actually serves beyond the roughly eight months of pre-sentence custody he has already completed.

Residents who have information about drug-related crimes in Millcreek can contact the Unified Police Department's Millcreek precinct at 385-468-9600.