(KNSI) — A 24-year-old Rogers man was sentenced to 180 days in jail for breaking into the St. Cloud Islamic Center last year.
Logan Oliver Smith and another woman went to the building in September 2022 in the middle of the night while high on drugs. They vandalized and desecrated the building, including holy objects near the altar. They were tracked back to a local hotel room and arrested the next day.
Smith pled guilty to second-degree burglary of a religious building in February.
The sentence is a departure from the minimum 33 months suggested by sentencing guidelines, which prosecutors protested. Stearns County Judge Mary Mahler said Smith was amenable to probation and treatment for chemical dependency. Smith’s lawyer, Stacy Lundeen, filed a motion for downward departure on June 1st, saying her client regretted what he had done and is not prejudiced against Muslims. The motion said drugs, not hate, were a factor in the break-in.
If Smith violates his probation; he could potentially be subject to a 39-month prison sentence.
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