Cass County: Woman Appeals Felony Theft Conviction
CASS COUNTY (trfnews.i234.me) — A Fargo woman is asking the North Dakota Supreme Court to overturn her felony theft conviction. She claims her attorney failed to tell her that prosecutors had changed their position on a plea deal before she entered her guilty plea.
Alexis Engelking entered a guilty plea on October 13 for felony theft. She received a three-year prison sentence. The sentence includes a mandatory 30 days in the Cass County Jail and 18 months of supervised probation.
Engelking filed her notice of appeal on October 20 in Cass County District Court. She is appealing both her conviction and her sentence.
Mugshot: Alexis Engelking.
Plea Agreement Dispute
Engelking said she believed the plea agreement would reduce the felony theft charge to a misdemeanor. She claims she did not know that the prosecutor changed their position on the agreement.
Engelking stated that she only learned prosecutors were seeking a Class B felony during the hearing itself. She wrote that the change was not communicated to her before she agreed to plead guilty.
“I would not have pled guilty if I knew the State was pursuing a Class B felony,” Engelking said in her filing to the court.
Claims of Counsel Errors
Engelking also challenged the offense date listed in the criminal complaint. She said the alleged date of January 1, 2024, is incorrect because she did not begin working for the alleged victim’s business until January 24.
She said she was not properly informed or updated by her attorney during key parts of the plea process. Engelking claims her rights to due process and effective legal counsel were violated.
Case Now Before the State Supreme Court
The case is now pending before the North Dakota Supreme Court. No future hearings are currently scheduled.
More information on North Dakota court records can be found at the North Dakota Courts website.
I’m Chris Harper reporting for TRF News.