MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota — Former Minneapolis police officer Mohamed Noor will be back in a Hennepin County courtroom this week. Noor will be resentenced for fatally shooting Justine Ruszczyk after the Minnesota Supreme Court reversed his murder conviction last month.
In July 2017, Noor shot and killed Justine Ruszczyk, who also went by the name Justine Damond, in the alley behind her south Minneapolis home. Ruszczyk had called 911 to report a possible sexual assault. Noor's partner testified that the 40-year-old startled them when she approached the driver's side window of their squad car and Noor pulled his weapon, shooting and killing Ruszczyk.
A jury convicted Noor of second-degree manslaughter and third-degree murder and he was sentenced to 12.5 years in prison.
Noor's team appealed the third-degree murder conviction, and in February, the Minnesota Court of Appeals upheld it. Noor's legal team then officially filed a petition asking the Minnesota Supreme Court for review.
In mid-September, the Minnesota Supreme Court reviewed the case and threw out Noor's conviction of third-degree murder.
Justices ruled that Noor's actions were directed "with particularity," and therefore did not meet the "depraved-mind" requirement for conviction for third-degree murder.
That means when Noor appears in court later this week, the former officer will be sentenced only for the lesser charge of second-degree manslaughter.
Noor has submitted a request to be resentenced to less than 3.5 years in prison, much of which Noor has already served since entering prison in May 2019.
Depending on the judge's decision and credit for time served, it's possible Noor could be released after the hearing or shortly after.
In previous statements, Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman said his office will seek the maximum sentence for the remaining second-degree manslaughter conviction.
For those without a prior criminal history, like Noor, state sentencing guidelines range from 41 to 57 months with a presumptive sentence of four years — serving two-thirds of that sentence before being eligible for supervised release. That means if Noor gets the presumptive sentence, he could leave prison in a few months. Noor has already served 29 months in prison.
Noor will go before Hennepin County District Judge Kathryn Quaintance on Thursday, October 21 at 9 a.m.