KEARNEY, Neb. (AP) — A California man has been sentenced to 12 to 18 years in prison for stabbing a fellow construction worker during an argument last fall at a Kearney hotel. 

Local media that Larry “Lorenzo” Aguilar, of Riverbank, Calif., was sentenced Friday after he apologized for his actions.

The 40-year-old pleaded no contest to assaulting Michael Autry, also of California, on Oct. 23.

Prosecutors say Autry was angry at Aguilar that night because he had been left at a bar without a ride. When Autry confronted Aguilar, he stabbed Autry in the neck and arm several times.

Prosecutors argued for a tough sentence because Aguilar could have killed Autry if one of the knife wounds landed in a slightly different location.

Autry underwent surgery and has since recovered.