Oscar Chan, an undocumented immigrant, was convicted on an aggravated assault charge last year for stabbing his roommate in 2012.
TRENTON - A man who stabbed his roommate five times during a drunken argument over their music was sentenced to prison Thursday and will most likely be deported when he's released.
Mercer County Superior Court Judge Darlene Pereksta sentenced Oscar Chan to seven years in prison Thursday, including the nearly two years he has already served. He will be eligible for parole in almost four years.
Chan, 32, originally from Guatemala, was found guilty of aggravated assault last year for the stabbing, which happened in November, 2012.
Chan was drinking at a home he shared with Ramon Perez that night. Perez came home and complained about the music being too loud, according to testimony.
The two got into an argument, which ended with Chan stabbing his roommate five times.
Prosecutors have claimed that Chan chased Perez with a knife.
"That doesn't mean it wasn't provoked," Kathleen Redpath-Perez, an attorney representing Chan said Thursday. She argued that Chan also ended up with a stab wound, which was not self-inflicted.
During the trial last year, Chan argued that he was brandishing the knife in self-defense - something the jury did not find to be true, Pereksta said.
During Chan's court appearance Thursday, Redpath-Perez argued that the 32-year-old does not have a criminal history and that the roommates had issues over food and music in the past, which culminated in the stabbing three years ago.
"It was an out of the ordinary circumstance," she said.
But Pereksta took issue with the argument, saying that she did believe Chan could reoffend and that the defense was overlooking a significant part of Chan's history - his status as an undocumented immigrant.
"I cannot close my eyes to the fact that he's in this country illegally. That's not a law abiding life," Pereksta said.
Originally from Guatemala, Chan has lived in Trenton for eight years and was married to a U.S. citizen at the time of the stabbing. However, Pereksta said he was not trying to obtain citizenship himself.
She added that Chan will most likely be deported following his release from prison.
Anna Merriman may be reached at amerriman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @anna_merriman Find The Times of Trenton on Facebook.