Bradley Joe Morales, 32, Minot, was sentenced in district court in Minot on Feb. 17 for the 2017 stabbing murder of Sharmaine Leake, 25.

Morales had previously been found guilty of Class AA felony murder and was sentenced to 40 years in jail in 2018. Morales appealed his case to the Supreme Court, who would throw out the 2018 conviction after ruling that his rights had been violated when the court was closed during the trial. The second trial began after much delay in May of last year, but ended abruptly after three days of testimony when Morales, who was representing himself, made a shocking move to change his plea to guilty.

Judge Douglas Mattson presided over both trials, and ordered a presentence investigation after Morales’s guilty plea came through, with the prosecution seeking no more than the 40 years he was originally sentenced to after the 2018 conviction. Despite an 11th hour attempt by Morales to renege on his guilty plea, Judge Mattson sentenced him to 35 years in the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Morales received credit for 2,011 days already served, and will be eligible for parole after serving 85% of his sentence.

Morales has a 30-day window to file an appeal of his conviction with the North Dakota Supreme Court. A restitution hearing will be scheduled at a later date.