Man faces 5 years in plea deal for throat-slashing in Enfield

Alex Wood, Journal Inquirer, Manchester, Conn.
·3 min read

Mar. 30—A man accused of slashing a 63-year-old man's throat in an Enfield motel room amid a psychiatric episode that the older man feared would lead to his suicide has accepted a plea bargain, been convicted of first-degree assault, and faces a likely five-year prison sentence, court records show.

SLASHING DEAL

DEFENDANT: Alexander Arslanian, 30, of Agawam, Massachusetts.

CONVICTION: First-degree assault.

LIKELY SENTENCE: 10 years, suspended after five years in prison, followed by five years of probation.

Alexander Arslanian, 30, of Agawam, Massachusetts accepted the Hartford Superior Court plea bargain last week under the Alford doctrine, meaning that he didn't admit guilt but acknowledged that the prosecution had enough evidence for a conviction at trial, the records show.

He was convicted of first-degree assault under a provision relating to extremely reckless conduct that causes serious physical injury to a victim.

Arslanian is scheduled to be sentenced May 18. Both sides have agreed on the five-year prison term, which is likely to be followed by five years of probation, with the possibility of up to five more years behind bars if he violates release conditions.

The victim's name has been blacked out of public copies of court records on grounds that it was a family violence crime.

The plea agreement calls for Judge David P. Gold to issue a "no contact protective order" when he imposes sentence, requiring Arslanian to stay away from the victim, as he has been while the case was in court.

The slashing occurred in a room at the Motel 6 on Hazard Avenue on Oct. 21, 2021.

A report by Enfield police Detective Brian Callaghan includes no psychiatric diagnosis for Arslanian. But it contains extensive information pointing to the possibility that he was having a psychiatric episode.

The detective quotes Arslanian as initially telling another officer that he was Alex but later denying it and giving another name. He also quotes Arslanian as saying the victim cut his own throat.

Callaghan quotes Arslanian as saying during a brief conversation in a motel stairway, recorded with a body-worn camera, that "his family has been making him hallucinate lately. ... He feels that God is controlling his phone. He also said his blood family is planning a strategic attack on him."

In another interview with Callaghan outside the motel room, Arslanian said "everything was a blur," the detective reported. As Callaghan walked away, Arslanian said the victim "has been telling him untrue things," the detective reported.

Arslanian has been held in lieu of $750,000 bond while the case was in court.

At his October 2021 arraignment, public defender Gabriela Sandoval asked the judge to direct prison officials to provide Arslanian with detoxification. She also said he has served in the Marine Corps, has family in Connecticut, and has a daughter.

Callaghan quoted the victim as saying after undergoing surgery at Baystate Medical Center in Springfield that Arslanian has been having mental health issues recently and that the victim had arranged an appointment for him with a mental health provider.

The victim said Arslanian had left his job the week before, telling his boss he wasn't mentally stable. The victim said he had stayed with Arslanian at the motel the previous night because he thought Arslanian was suicidal.

As they waited in the motel room for Arslanian's mental health appointment, the victim said, he got up to go to the bathroom. He said Arslanian grabbed him from behind and slit his throat. He said they struggled and fell to the ground and that he managed to get away and run to the motel lobby for help.

The victim said Arslanian had never been violent in the past, the detective reported.

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