Star Tribune
St. Paul woman charged with vandalizing mosque, warrant issued
A 45-year-old St. Paul woman has been charged with breaking the glass door of a mosque last month, and a warrant has been issued for her arrest.
Sherrice Shatanya Williams was charged with felony first-degree damage to property for allegedly vandalizing the Masjid Al Sunnah mosque May 12 in St. Paul.
Officers responded to the mosque at 373 Pedersen after security footage recorded a person throwing a large rock at the building’s front doors four times.
The incident took place just after 7 a.m.
An anonymous tipster told police the woman was named “Shanice,” and officers recognized her as Williams, according to a criminal complaint.
The complaint said Williams’ physical description matches that of the woman on the surveillance footage. She was not in custody as of Wednesday evening.
The mosque’s imam estimated repair costs to be around $1,755.
A spokesman for the Ramsey County Attorney’s Office declined to provide additional details on the case or possible motivations.
The vandalism came amid a surge in attacks on mosques in the Twin Cities.
Two were allegedly committed by Jackie Rahm Little, 36, who was arrested last month. He faces arson charges in connection with fires at two Minneapolis mosques April 23-24, including one where 40 children were in a basement day-care program.
After the Minneapolis fires, a person started a fire May 17 inside the Tawhid Islamic Center at 430 Dale St. N. in St. Paul. Police arrested Said Murekezi, 42, and he has been charged with second-degree arson, second-degree burglary and possession of methamphetamine in connection with the incident.
A 65-year-old pedestrian was struck and killed by a pickup truck near Christmas Lake Friday afternoon as she was walking through a crosswalk, the Minnesota State Patrol said.
The woman was crossing Highway 7 around 1 p.m. when she was hit by a 2019 Ford F-150 turning left from Christmas Lake Road onto the highway headed east, the State Patrol said in its report. The intersection is just east of Excelsior, between Saint Albans Bay and Christmas Lake west of Minneapolis.
The Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office, Minnetonka police, and other agencies responded to the fatal collision. The State Patrol has not released the identity of the pedestrian.
The driver has not been arrested. Agencies are still investigating the collision, State Patrol Lt. Michael Lee said. Alcohol was not involved in the crash, the State Patrol said.
Former trooper Shane Roper, 32, had his last day Tuesday, State Patrol Lt. Michael Lee said. Roper’s attorney did not immediately return a request for comment Friday evening.
In July, Roper was charged with criminal vehicular homicide and manslaughter. He was also charged with criminal vehicle operation related to five other people who were seriously injured in the incident.
The criminal complaint states that Roper had been pursuing someone “suspected of committing a petty traffic offense” as he exited Hwy. 52 onto 12th Street SW. As he neared the intersection with Apache Drive, he reportedly turned his lights off and continued to accelerate with a fully engaged throttle.
Roper was traveling at 83 mph with his lights and siren off as he approached the intersection, a Rochester police investigation found. The trooper’s squad car slammed into the passenger side of a car occupied by Olivia Flores, which was heading west and turning into the mall.
Flores died from the blunt force injuries. She was an Owatonna High School cheerleader and set to graduate June 7. There were two other people in the car with Flores.
Olmsted County Attorney Mark Ostrem said in a statement following the charges that Roper violated his duty in “a gross fashion.”
Roper told investigators he was not paying attention to his speed at the time of the crash, and that he believed his lights were still activated when he exited the highway.
Steven Frane Bailey, 56, of St. Louis Park was arrested in connection with the incident and charged with two counts of criminal vehicular homicide and nine counts of criminal vehicular operation. His blood alcohol content measured at 0.325% after officers administered a preliminary breath test at HCMC, according to charges filed in Hennepin County District Court.
In his first court appearance Wednesday, Bailey told a judge his use of alcohol is not a problem. He has an extensive history of drunken driving convictions, starting in 1985 in Wisconsin. Additional convictions followed in Wabasha County in 1993 and Hennepin County in 1998, according to court records. Two more convictions followed in 2014 and 2015.
A Hennepin County judge set his bail at $500,000 with several conditions, including that Bailey take a substance use disorder assessment, that he abstain from drinking alcohol, avoid Park Tavern and stay away from the victims and his family.
His next court appearance is tentatively scheduled for Oct. 1.
Staff writers Paul Walsh and Jeff Day contributed to this report.
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