ST. CLOUD – A Stearns County judge this week sentenced a 26-year-old Twin Cities woman to five years probation for breaking into and vandalizing a mosque last year.

Victoria C. Veliz pleaded guilty in September to second-degree burglary in connection with the incident near the St. Cloud State University campus on Sept. 8, 2022.

Surveillance video shows Veliz, of New Hope, breaking into the mosque with 24-year-old Logan O. Smith of Rogers.

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 the 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 were in St. Cloud visiting her sister and went out to "explore" and decided to go inside a building she described as "spooky" or "haunted," court documents state.

In June, Smith was sentenced to 180 days in jail, staggered in three 60-day increments, followed by 10 years of probation. Smith's lawyer, Stacy Lundeen, asked for a downward departure from the maximum penalty because the break-in was fueled by "the fog of drugs and immature narcissism" and not hatred of Muslims.

Veliz' lawyer, Bruce Nestor, argued she didn't know the building was a place of religious worship due to intoxication by alcohol and other substances. Stearns County Judge Laura Moehrle denied a motion from Nestor to dismiss the charges. Nestor declined to comment on the case.

On Tuesday, Moehrle sentenced Veliz to five years of probation and 60 days in jail, which can be served using an alcohol-sensitive electronic home monitoring device. Probation terms also require Veliz to complete a substance use disorder assessment and follow its recommendations.

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

The mosque, which opened in 2007, is one of five operated by the Islamic Center. The damage to the mosque has been repaired and activities have returned to normal, according to Mohamed.