Rogers man sentenced to 180 days in jail for vandalizing St. Cloud mosque

ST. CLOUD — A 24-year-old Rogers man has been sentenced to 180 days in jail for breaking into and vandalizing a mosque last fall.

Logan O. Smith pleaded guilty in February to felony second-degree burglary in connection with the incident near the St. Cloud State University campus Sept. 8.

Smith, who had amended a not-guilty plea entered in January, was sentenced Monday by Stearns County District Judge Mary Mahler.

Surveillance video showed Smith breaking into the building just after 1 a.m. with a second person, who was later identified as Victoria C. Veliz, 26, of New Hope.

Veliz also was charged with felony second-degree burglary. Her case is still going through the court system.

According to court records, Smith and Veliz damaged an exterior door to enter the mosque, then wrecked interior doors and furniture. The pair also cut into an office ceiling, broke the handle on a foot-washing station and left behind beer cans, cigarette butts and bloody paper towels, according to documents.

A card left behind with information about a St. Cloud hotel led police to the pair, who were arrested in their room a few hours after the break-in. Police found two Qur'ans in the room, and Veliz told police that she and Smith went out to "explore" and decided to go inside a "scary church," court documents state.

The judge stayed a 39-month prison sentence on condition Smith adheres to the terms of his probation.

Smith's lawyer, Stacy Lundeen, asked Mahler for a downward departure from the maximum penalty. In a motion requesting probation, Lundeen said the break-in was fueled by "the fog of drugs and immature narcissism" and not hatred of Muslims.

Lundeen said Smith, who has been previously convicted of two felonies for drug possession, has "thrown himself" into recovery efforts and maintained sobriety and employment since the break-in.

Mohayadin Mohamed, president of the Islamic Center of St. Cloud, said he has previously seen minor vandalism at mosques such as broken windows, but this incident sparked fear in the community.

"This was different because they majorly damaged the mosque building and desecrated the scriptures," Mohamed said. The mosque, which opened in 2007, is one of five operated by the Islamic Center.