For years, Jesus Manuel Holguin-Albo has provided for his family in Mexico by working in the United States. He wants to get back to his two children and five siblings so he can continue to do so. But first, he may have to wait up to 15 years until he gets out of prison.

A pre-sentence report from Adult Probation and Parole indicated that Holguin-Albo would likely spend about six years in prison, including the two years he has already served at the Utah County Jail since being arrested for the 2006 killing. Once his sentence is complete, Holguin-Albo, an illegal alien who hails from the Mexican state of Chihuahua, will be turned over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement and deported to Mexico.

Brook Sessions, Holguin-Albo's attorney, urged probation for his client, and disputed whether the APP report should have enhanced the sentencing guidelines because a weapon was used in the crime. While acknowledging that Holguin-Albo will likely suffer for the rest of his life knowing that he killed his friend, Judge Gary Stott saw no reason to go against APP's recommendation of 1-15 years in the Utah State Prison.

"I have watched the defendant over the course of many, many months as he's been coming in and out of court, and I have come to believe from my perspective that he is a decent man. But unfortunately, he was involved in an activity where he made a real bad decision, and that decision ultimately resulted in the death of a friend, and he caused that death," Stott said before handing down his sentence. "You have an opportunity, because you're still a young man, to return to your family and to make good decisions from this point forward in your life. I hope you do that, and I wish you the best."

Holguin-Albo was arrested in May 2006 after stabbing Cazarez-Gonzalez with a steak knife at Holguin-Albo's Provo apartment. According to witnesses, the two had gotten into a fight after a day of drinking, and Cazarez-Gonzalez knocked Holguin-Albo to the ground and repeatedly punched him. After the punching stopped, Holguin-Albo went into the kitchen, grabbed a steak knife and stabbed Cazarez-Gonzalez.

Sessions emphasized that Holguin-Albo was under a great deal of emotional distress because of the beating. Cazarez-Gonzalez was a good friend of his, with whom he had worked in various cities across the U.S. He also said Holguin-Albo may have been suffering from the effects of head trauma from the beating.

Holguin-Albo expressed remorse for his friend's death. He said the incident started when he tried to break up another fight.

"I am very remorseful for what I have done and I ask for another opportunity. I know that my family needs me," a tearful Holguin-Albo said through a translator. "If it could be possible I would give up my life to find a remedy to this and to give my friend, Raul, back his life. But I know that I cannot."

Deputy County Attorney Curtis Larson urged Stott to send Holguin-Albo to prison. The incident was not just a matter of the defendant pulling out a knife during a fight while he was under duress, Larson said. According to witnesses, Holguin-Albo got to his feet, said "Now we'll see," ran into the kitchen and grabbed the knife, which they had been using to cut chicken during a barbecue earlier in the day. When he ran back into the room he stabbed Cazarez-Gonzalez, cutting a vein near his heart.

"Though the defendant indicates it was never his intent to cause injury and certainly not to cause the death of Mr. Gonzalez, the defendant pleaded guilty to knowingly and intentionally causing the death of Raul Cazarez-Gonzalez," Larson said.

During the two years since the stabbing, Holguin-Albo's case was delayed repeatedly by issues with attorneys on both sides. The Utah County Public Defender Association was dismissed from the case after the office came into possession of a bloody shirt allegedly used to wipe blood from the murder weapon. The next defense attorney, Paige Benjamin, asked to withdraw after a witness approached him at a bank and began talking about the case. In January, prosecutors Guy Probert and Randy Kennard were removed from the case after Probert told Stott that he could be called as a witness due to statements made to him by another witness in the case.

When Holguin-Albo pleaded guilty in May, Stott thanked him for his patience.

• Jeremy Duda can be reached at 344-2561 or This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it