Man pleads guilty in vandalism at historically Black church

FULTON, Mo. (AP) — One of three suspects charged as an adult after a historically Black church in central Missouri was vandalized has pleaded guilty. Eighteen-year-old Dylan Smith, of Jefferson City, pleaded guilty Monday in Fulton to burglary and vandalism in the January 2021 vandalism of Oakley Chapel A.M.E. Church in Tebbetts. KMIZ-TV reports the 143-year-old church was extensively damaged but an exact dollar amount was not available. Five people were arrested and three were charged as adults. They were also accused of damaging two private homes in the area. Smith was sentenced to five years of supervised probation and ordered to pay restitution.