A Crooked Creek man was sentenced Tuesday to 33 years in prison for beating his girlfriend to death in 2019.
Harold Gregory, 33, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder for the death of 30-year-old Cheryl Sakar. The partial plea agreement called for Bethel Superior Court Judge Nathaniel Peters to sentence Gregory to between 20 and 45 years, according to a statement from the Department of Law. A charge of first-degree murder was dismissed.
Sakar died in her home in Crooked Creek in August 2019. Sakar’s family spoke at the sentencing hearing about prior acts of domestic violence by Gregory, the statement said. They said they tried to convince Sakar to report the assaults to law enforcement and encouraged her to leave the violent relationship, according to the statement.
Gregory was in custody Wednesday at the Yukon Kuskokwim Correctional Center. Crooked Creek, on the Kuskokwim River about 140 miles northeast of Bethel, is home to about 90 people.