Man pleads guilty to breaking into, vandalizing St. Cloud mosque

ST. CLOUD, Minn. -- A 24-year-old Rogers man pleaded guilty on Thursday for his role in breaking into the St. Cloud Islamic Center and vandalizing it.

Logan Smith pleaded guilty to second-degree burglary of a religious establishment. 

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.

MORE: 2 charged after St. Cloud Islamic Center vandalized

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 - who is also charged with burglary. Inside the room, officers found two Qurans and three cassette tapes with Arabic writing on them, along with marijuana, the complaint said.

Smith will be sentenced in June. Veliz has a hearing coming up in March.