The range here runs from roughly 3 to 5 years on the lenient end to significantly more on the other end, and several variables determine where the sentence lands within that spectrum.
Arizona uses a structured sentencing system with presumptive, mitigated, and aggravated ranges for each offense class. A single count of aggravated assault as a class 3 or class 4 felony carries a presumptive sentence in the range of 5 to 7.5 years for a non-repetitive offender. With prior felony convictions, Arizona's repetitive offender statutes kick in and those ranges increase substantially.
The critical question is how Arizona treats convictions from 30 years ago in the prior felony calculation. Arizona law does consider the age of prior convictions in its repetitive offender determination, and older convictions carry less weight than recent ones in some circumstances. However, ten counts of armed robbery, representing a 30-year prison sentence, is not a minor prior record regardless of how long ago it occurred. A judge and prosecutor looking at that history alongside a new violent felony conviction is going to view it as a pattern rather than an isolated past mistake.
The facts of the current offense drive the outcome within whatever range the prior record establishes. Minimal injury to the victim, no weapon involvement, and circumstances that a defense attorney can frame sympathetically push toward the lower end. Serious injury, weapon use, or other aggravating factors push toward the higher end or beyond.
A sentencing memorandum prepared by a skilled defense attorney that addresses the age of the priors, the circumstances of the current offense, and any mitigating factors is the most important document that gets filed before the judge makes a decision.