Mohamed Noor asks for less than 3.5 years in prison in resentencing

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - Former Minneapolis police officer Mohamed Noor is asking the court for leniency when he is resentenced next week in the 2017 shooting death of Justine Ruszczyk Damond. 

Noor is being resentenced for second-degree manslaughter after the Minnesota Supreme Court reversed his third-degree murder conviction last month. Noor was found guilty of shooting and killing Damond after she called 911 to report a possible sexual assault in the alley behind her southwest Minneapolis home. 

Noor’s attorney filed court documents Thursday seeking 41 months in prison in prison for him, or approximately 3.5 years. They argue the harsh and isolating conditions of his confinement, prison conditions due to the COVID-19 pandemic and Noor’s prison conduct all warrant a lesser sentence.

Noor recently returned to the Minnesota prison system after being housed out of state in part due to the high-profile nature of his case. Noor has already served around 29 months in prison. If Judge Kathryn Quaintance agrees to a 41-month sentence, with two-thirds of that time already served he could walk out of custody following the sentencing hearing. Prosecutors did not seek an upward sentencing departure at Noor’s trial.

With the third-degree murder conviction tossed, Noor will now be sentenced on the lesser charge of second-degree manslaughter, which carries a presumptive sentence of 48 months, or four years in prison. If he gets that, two-thirds of time served would be 32 months so he will be released from prison sometime near the end of the year. 

Noor will be resentenced on Oct. 21 at 9 a.m.