Two Charged in Connection to Islamic Center Break In

(KNSI) — Two people have been charged after a break in and vandalism at the St. Cloud Islamic Center.

According to the criminal complaint, an employee arrived at the Islamic Center just before 4:00 a.m. September 8th to see the front window was broken. Once inside, they noticed beer cans lying around, cigarette butts on the floor, and ceiling tiles that had been damaged. Officers say they found further damage, including a leather chair that had been slashed, papers strewn about, and a handle for turning on the water for washing feet was broken off and on the ground. Police also found a piece of paper on a desk with what appeared to be “LS” written in blood.

Within hours of the break-in, police arrested 23-year-old Logan Smith of Rogers and 25-year-old Victoria Veliz of New Hope. Police say they tracked them down after finding a key card at the scene for a hotel in St. Cloud and showing the front desk employee their photos from surveillance footage. The employee identified Smith and Veliz, and the two were arrested in their room.

Inside the room, investigators say they found marijuana, two copies of the Koran, and three cassette tapes with what is believed to be Arabic writing on them.

The criminal complaint says as they were being arrested, the two “began making utterances,” with Smith saying it was his fault and Veliz saying both of them did it. In a sworn statement, Veliz told police she and Smith went out at night to explore, thinking it would be funny. She said they saw a “scary church” and decided to go inside, but she couldn’t remember how they got in or what they did.

The two are charged with felony second-degree burglary of a government, religious, historic or school building.

St. Cloud Police are investigating this as a bias-motivated crime and coordinating with the FBI. Patrols around local Islamic centers and mosques have been increased as a result.

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