Stolen Book of Mormon Found in Washington DC
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ABC News(WASHINGTON)– Federal authorities have arrested a man in Washington, D.C., for stealing a rare, first-edition copy of the Book of Mormon from an Arizona bookstore.
Police in Mesa, Ariz., said the FBI and U.S. Marshal’s Service found the book in the Washington, D.C., apartment of Jay Linford. The 182-year-old book was reported missing on May 28 by Helen Schlie, the owner of Rare and Out of Print Books and Art. The book was valued at $100,000.
The 88-year-old shop owner kept the book in an unlocked file cabinet in the bookstore. Schlie does not have security cameras in her store, but has a night watchman.
She told ABC News shortly after the book was stolen that she pinpointed a 20-minute window of time when her guard took a bathroom break that the theft must have occurred.
“So many people know where the book was. I’ve never had it under glass. I’ve always let people touch it and hold it and take pictures with it,” she told ABC News after the book was stolen.
Police say Linford is being held on $40,000 bond pending extradition to Arizona.
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