TOWNER, N.D. — A Minnesota man accused of attacking a priest in North Dakota has changed his not guilty plea.

Forty-three-year-old Chad Legare, of Alexandria entered an Alford plea to attempted murder on Tuesday. An Alford plea allows Legare to maintain his innocence while acknowledging that evidence likely would convict him.

According to a press release, Northeast District Judge Donovan Foughty dismissed the other charges against Legare and ordered a pre-sentence investigation.

Legare was accused of assaulting the Rev. Robert Wapenski Jan. 30 at St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church in Anamoose, in a dispute involving a woman.

Legare has been held at the Heart of America Correctional & Treatment Center in Rugby. He had been set for trial to begin Tuesday.