Charges: Homeless Man Burglarized Eagan Mosque
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – A 26-year-old Minneapolis man is accused of breaking into a safe at an Eagan mosque and taking money from it because he needed financial help and wasn't getting it, according to charges filed Wednesday in Dakota County Court.
William Allen Mattingly was charged with second-degree burglary in connection with the incident, which happened last Tuesday at the As-Sahabah Cultural Association in Eagan.
According to the charges, authorities were called to the mosque last Tuesday after a reported break-in and stated that $200 was missing from the donation box inside. The door was also pried open and the lock on the cash box had been broken. A large safe in the office of the mosque had also been broken into.
Mattingly was identified on surveillance as the suspect in the incident, and three days later was spotted at a mosque in Bloomington. He was taken into custody, where he denied ever being at the Eagan mosque where the burglary took place.
The complaint states after further questioning, he eventually admitted to being at the mosque on the day of the burglary to pray. Nobody else was there at the time as he said he "wiggled the door open." He admitted to police that he moved the surveillance camera away from the door and used a piece of metal to pry the door open to get in.
Mattingly said he broke open the safe, but didn't find any money inside even though officials said $200 was missing. He told authorities that about a week before the burglary, he was at the mosque and asking for money because he's homeless, but was laughed at and it made him angry, according to the complaint.
He said people of the Muslim faith are supposed to take care of each other and when they didn't agree to help him, Mattingly said he was going to steal from them.
If convicted, Mattingly faces up to 10 years in prison and a $20,000 fine.
