Man Sentenced – Again – in ND Murder Case

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — A man whose murder conspiracy conviction was overturned by the North Dakota Supreme Court has been sentenced to serve 25 years in prison on a murder charge.

The Bismarck Tribune reports 31-year-old Richard Whitman was charged, pleaded guilty and was sentenced on Wednesday, in a streamlined hearing.

A jury in June 2012 convicted Whitman and Cody Borner of conspiracy to commit murder in the January 2012 shooting death in Beulah of Mike Padilla, of Billings, Mont. Padilla's brother, Timothy, was wounded in the shooting that authorities say resulted from a drug-fueled dispute.

The Supreme Court overturned the convictions because of improper charging documents but said the men could be charged again. Borner faces a Nov. 27 preliminary hearing on new charges of terrorizing, aggravated assault and reckless endangerment.