September 22, 2022 at 4:49 p.m.
Church vandals turn themselves in
Two men have been arrested for vandalism committed Sept. 17 in Our Lady of Angels Church in Sauk Centre.
Corey Allen Drouillard, 28, of Sauk Centre, and Cheyenne Marcus Budreau, 19, of Cass Lake, have each been charged with one felony count of property damage in the first degree – carrying a maximum sentence of a $10,000 fine and/or up to five years’ imprisonment – and one misdemeanor count of disorderly conduct, carrying a maximum sentence of a $1,000 fine and/or up to 90 days’ imprisonment. The omnibus hearings for both individuals will be held on Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2023, at the Stearns County Courthouse; Drouillard’s hearing will be at 9:45 a.m., and Budreau’s will be at 10:15 a.m.
“We always want to pray for those who do this sort of damage to churches – or any property, for that matter,” said Rev. Jeremy Theis, Parishes on the Prairie parochial vicar. “We pray especially for the two men who damaged the church, and we pray our churches continue to be safe places to be.”
According to a criminal complaint filed in Stearns County District Court, around 1:08 p.m. on Sept. 17, Sauk Centre Police Department investigator Dustin VonWahlde responded to Our Lady of Angels Church for a property damage complaint.
VonWahlde spoke with DRL and DLH, both fully identified in police reports, and learned someone had entered the church and damaged a number of objects.
Between the church and its entryway, a large angel font statue had been tipped over and damaged, also damaging the carpet where it fell. In the sanctuary, a heavy high altar candlestick had been moved and damaged, causing further carpet damage as well; a cross was also moved and damaged. Additionally, the church’s red sanctuary lamp was missing.
On reviewing surveillance footage form within the church, VonWahlde observed two individuals entering the church at 6:27 a.m. Both seemed to be intoxicated, and one appeared to urinate on the statue in the church’s front area before they both left around 6:38 a.m., carrying the sanctuary lamp.
Photographs from the footage were distributed for identification. Drouillard then contacted law enforcement, indicating that he and his cousin, Budreau, were the two identified in the church; he admitted entering the church and causing damage but noted he had been very intoxicated. Law enforcement later spoke with Budreau, who also admitted entering the church and causing damage, but he noted he was also intoxicated and could not remember the incident. He did recall Drouillard carrying the sanctuary lamp and believed it had been left somewhere in an alley.
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