A Bend man received nearly five years in prison for a March stabbing incident off China Hat Road.

Anthony James Reyes, 33, appeared for sentencing Tuesday in Deschutes County Circuit Court having earlier pleaded guilty by an Alford plea to first-degree assault and conspiracy to commit first-degree assault. An Alford plea allows a defendant to accept responsibility for a crime without specifically admitting guilt.

Earlier this year, Reyes was on probation for two earlier cases and was wearing a GPS ankle monitor as part of his probation. On March 28, he removed the ankle monitor and went to China Hat Road, where he confronted Vance Douglas, a man with whom he’d been involved in a “beef over a number of things,” according to Reyes’ lawyer, TJ Spear.

Reyes and Douglas fought and Reyes stabbed Douglas in the chest and head, causing injuries that sent Douglas to the hospital, according to prosecutor Steve Gunnels.

Reyes was arrested and charged with the Measure 11 offenses of attempted murder and first-degree assault, as well as four other counts. In Oregon, the voter-approved Measure 11 assigns lengthy prison sentences for certain violent crimes.

In July, Reyes’ co-defendant, Tesla Brandt Delury, 31, pleaded guilty by Alford plea to witness tampering and attempted second-degree assault and was sentenced to 60 days jail.

Spear, said Reyes is a respected local tattoo artist with a supportive family, but he’s struggled with bad decisions including the people with whom he associates.

Judge Alycia Sykora assigned Reyes 58 months in prison to be followed by three years post-prison supervision. He was also sentenced Tuesday in two other cases, both alleging probation violations. Those sentences of 13 months and 18 months were ordered to run concurrent to his sentence in the stabbing case.

Reyes had been a participant in family drug court at the time of his arrest, which led to his removal from the alternative sentencing program.

On Tuesday, he apologized to the court for violating probation and “abusing my opportunity at success.”

“When I first started all this, I believed it was because of somebody else’s doing,” Reyes told the judge. “But I’ve been involved in the Restart program and have learned that no one can manipulate my actions but myself. I take full responsibility for going out there and engaging in an altercation with somebody. I had every opportunity to decide not to.”

Douglas, the stabbing victim, did not attend the sentencing or provide the court a statement. Gunnels said he’s “not easy to contact at the moment.”