SHERMAN, TX — Two men are in jail accused of stealing a sacred document worth thousands of dollars. Sherman Police are closer to finding a local synagogue’s Torah that was stolen last week. Maddie Garrett reports live from the Temple Beth Emeth with an update on the recent arrests.
It was a week ago Friday that the temple on Rusk Street was reported burglarized and vandalized. Now two Sherman men believed to have stolen their most sacred possession–their Torah–have been arrested.
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Derrick Randall Nelms, 19 (pictured, left, above), and James William Wilsford, 23 (pictured, right, above), were arrested Thursday night. They are now in the Grayson County Jail. Both Nelms and Wilsford live at 628 South Ricketts Street in Sherman. Sherman Police obtained enough evidence in their investigation to obtain a search warrant at that residence.
But police say the Torah is still missing. Their search recovered no property at this time, and police say they are actively working on locating the stolen scrolls. The Temple Beth Emeth was also vandalized last Friday. The only item stolen was the Torah, which is valued at $40,000.
Police do not believe this was a hate crime, but rather a random or isolated incident, and believe the evidence against Nelms and Wilsford is very strong.
“Our investigation produced very detailed and accurate information which led to the identification of two suspects believed to be responsible for these crimes,” Detective Rob Ballew of the Sherman Police Department said.
While the Torah is still missing, police are doing everything in their power to recover the stolen book
Video Here
