Rogers man sentenced to jail for breaking into, vandalizing St. Cloud mosque
ST. CLOUD, Minn. -- A 24-year-old Rogers man will spend some time in jail for breaking into a St. Cloud mosque and vandalizing it.
According to Stearns County court documents, Logan Smith was sentenced to 180 days of local confinement at the county jail. The confinement will be staggered in 60-day increments. His first stint in jail will begin on June 19. He'll also report to jail in November and next June.
RELATED: 2 charged after St. Cloud Islamic Center vandalized; second mosque break-in this week in Minnesota
Smith also received a 39-month prison sentence, but that's stayed for 10 years provided he remains law-abiding during his probation.
Police say they arrived to the mosque around 4 a.m. on Sept. 8, 2022 after an employee had arrived at work and found the building to be damaged.
Documents say security footage showed two suspects entering the mosque around 1 a.m. At the scene, officers found a hole in the ceiling, a damaged leather chair, bloody paper towels, and papers strewn about. A piece of paper with Arabic writing on it had a suspect's initials written in blood.
They also found a keycard for a hotel at the scene. The officers went to the hotel, where they found Smith, along with Victoria Catalina Veliz. Both were charged with burglary.
Smith pleaded guilty to second-degree burglary in February.
NOTE: The featured video is from September 2022, when both were charged.