Rochester woman pleads guilty to federal charges connected to St. Paul arsons

Emily Cutts, Post-Bulletin, Rochester, Minn.

Fri, September 3, 2021

Sep. 3—MINNEAPOLIS — The Rochester woman federally charged with helping her husband flee to Mexico after he allegedly set multiple fires in St. Paul in the wake of the murder of George Floyd last May pleaded guilty Thursday in U.S. District Court.

Mena Dhaya Yousif, 23, pleaded guilty Thursday in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis to a charge of being an accessory after the fact.

A sentencing date has not yet been scheduled. According to the plea agreement, the guideline range for a person with Yousif's criminal history could face 18 to 24 months in prison as well as at least one year to a maximum of three years of supervised release.

Yousif assisted her husband, Jose Angel Felan Jr., 35, in fleeing to Texas and then the couple crossed the border into Mexico.

Yousif traveled with Felan and assisted his escape by destroying evidence and providing false information to law enforcement," according to a news release from the U.S. District Attorney's Office District of Minnesota.

The couple was arrested in February 2021 by Mexican law enforcement and returned to the U.S.

Felan pleaded not guilty in April to three felony counts of arson. Felan is alleged to have "maliciously damaged and destroyed" a Goodwill retail store, the Gordon Parks High School, and the 7 Mile Sportswear store, all in St. Paul, on May 28, 2020.

A third co-defendant, Mohamed Hussein Abdi, pleaded guilty in March to conspiracy to commit arson for his role in a fire at Gordon Parks High School. A sentencing date has not yet been scheduled.

Photo: Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Jose Felan, Jr., (left) and Mena Dyaha Yousif