A 44-year-old man was sentenced to 18 years and eight months in state prison Wednesday for a July knife attack in Porterville that left one man injured and ended with police shooting the armed suspect as he tried to enter a crowded bar.

The attack happened late July 9, when Drak entered the lobby of an apartment building armed with a large knife and attacked a man, telling him he would kill him, the Tulare County District Attorney’s Office reported.

Drak thrust the knife toward the man’s chest and stomach several times, causing a laceration to the victim’s shoulder.

After the attack, another person entered the lobby from an elevator and found Drak throwing furniture. Prosecutors said Drak pointed the knife at her, blocked her from leaving and told her she “was not going anywhere” before eventually leaving the building.

Witnesses flagged down a Porterville police officer who was nearby, and officers located Drak near a bar on Main Street, prosecutors said.

Despite repeated commands from officers to drop the knife, Drak continued toward the bar’s entrance while waving the weapon at officers. When Drak attempted to enter the crowded bar, an officer fired three shots, striking him once.

Drak was subdued and taken for medical treatment before being transported and booked into custody the following day, officials reported.

Drak later pleaded no contest to two counts of assault with a deadly weapon, making criminal threats, false imprisonment, resisting an executive officer and exhibiting a deadly weapon to a police officer, along with special allegations filed against him.

Drak has a criminal history dating to 2002 that includes 15 felony convictions and multiple parole violations, the DA’s office stated.

His most recent felony conviction came in late 2024 for indecent exposure. He was sentenced to two years in prison in that case and was released by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation in April 2026.

Drak is a registered sex offender and was on parole at the time of the July stabbing.

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