Man Found Incompetent to Face Rape and Dog Killing Charges
ST. CLOUD -- A St. Cloud man accused of raping two women and slashing the throat of a dog has been ruled incompetent to face the charges.
Twenty-one-year-old Joseph Vogel is charged with criminal sexual conduct against two different women at his home in September and October. He is also charged with the mistreatment of an animal for allegedly killing the dog in August.
The incompetency ruling suspends the criminal case against Vogel until competency can be restored.
Meanwhile, a judge has signed an order to start the screening process for a possible civil commitment. A related petition has been filed in Stearns County District Court to commit Vogel as mentally ill and chemically dependent.
According to the charges, two women claimed that while in a relationship with Vogel he pinned them down and forced intercourse on them.
A separate filing accuses Vogel of slashing the throat of a dog after it killed two cats. Vogel told authorities he used a butcher knife to cut the dog's throat and then got into his truck and watched the dog run in circles before collapsing in the ditch.
A hearing is scheduled for Tuesday, November 10th on the petition for civil commitment.