Sacramento County judge sentences man for hate crimes at Carmichael school, synagogue
A judge on Tuesday sentenced a man convicted of hate crimes to spend 180 days in the Sacramento County Jail for placing antisemitic leaflets at a synagogue and an elementary school in Carmichael last year.
Nicholas Wayne Sherman, who has been in custody at the jail since his December arrest, was convicted of a felony charge of desecrating a religious symbol and a misdemeanor charge of terrorism by symbol, the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office announced Wednesday in a news release.
Sherman, 34, pleaded no contest to the criminal charges on Tuesday, according to Sacramento Superior Court records. Eleven other misdemeanor charges filed against Sherman were dismissed. Sherman remained in custody at the jail Wednesday, and his projected release date was not listed in jail records.
These hate crimes occurred weeks apart in October. Prosecutors said Sherman on Oct. 4 placed plastic food storage bags containing “Aryan Nations” flyers on doorsteps of homes and at nearby Deterding Elementary School in Carmichael.
Sacramento County sheriff’s officials have said the storage bags were found at more than 10 homes near California Avenue and Palm Drive.
Prosecutors said many of the flyers had a hand drawn swastika on the back or a printed swastika on the front, and investigators found fingerprints on the bags and security camera video that linked Sherman to the crime scene.
On Oct. 20, Sherman taped paper to a menorah and metal fence at the synagogue with anti-Jewish wording and photos of Nazi leader Adolf Hitler, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
Rabbi Boris Tsiprush of Shalom le Israel Messianic Synagogue told The Bee in October that an elder from the synagogue on Fair Oaks Boulevard was the first to spot leaflets with pictures of Hitler taped all over the menorah. He said said the leaflets also had “Hitler was right” and “Aryan Nations” printed on them.
This story was originally published March 2, 2022 at 12:52 PM.
