By NEAL WAGNER / Managing Editor

COLUMBIANA – A 26-year-old Pelham man will spend the next decade in prison after he pleaded guilty to felony counts of domestic violence and assault tied to a 2014 incident in Alabaster, during which the victim was stabbed with his own knife.

Deyvi Aquino-Cruz pleaded guilty to felony counts of second-degree assault and second-degree domestic violence in early October in front of Shelby County Circuit Court Judge Dan Reeves.

As a result of the guilty pleas, Aquino-Cruz, who lists an address in Pelham’s Green Park South mobile home park, was sentenced to 10 years in the Alabama Penitentiary. He received jail credit of 615 days for time served in the Shelby County Jail between his January 2014 arrest and his sentencing in October.

Once released, Aquino-Cruz must avoid initiating contact with the victim in the case, according to court records. A first-degree burglary charge was dropped against Aquino-Cruz through a plea agreement.

The charges stemmed from a January 25, 2014, incident during which Shelby County Sheriff’s Office deputies said Aquino-Cruz forced entry into the victim’s home on Ozley Road in Alabaster.

At the time of the arrest, Sheriff’s Office Lt. Clay Hammac said deputies responded to a 911 call reporting a person with a weapon at the residence. Hammac said deputies found Aquino-Cruz outside the residence. After investigating the incident, deputies determined the suspect allegedly forced entry into the residence armed with a knife before he was stabbed with the weapon by one of the home’s occupants.

The home occupant also received injuries in the altercation, according to court documents.