Suspect in case of boy abducted in 1978 to be kept in jail

Greg Tuttle

Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2000 | 11:01 a.m.

Jerald Howard Burgess, the 63-year-old Las Vegan who remains a suspect in the mysterious disappearance of a young boy 22 years ago, will be kept in custody pending trial on federal weapons charges.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Phyllis Adkins said Monday that Burgess poses a danger to the community after prosecutors presented pictures of two firearms he allegedly sold to an undercover agent. Assistant U.S. Attorney Peter Ko also provided the court with a partial transcript of Burgess allegedly threatening to kill a former federal judge and Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman.

Burgess was arrested by the FBI Thursday following an 18-month investigation. Federal agents used a confidential witness to buy guns from Burgess, then strike a deal to dispose of a human body.

According to prosecutors, Burgess told the witness he could get rid of a body by using the same method he used in 1978 to dispose of 6-year-old Cary Sayegh.

The son of wealthy Las Vegas businessman Sol Sayegh, Cary Sayegh was abducted from his elementary school playground on Oct. 25, 1978. A $500,000 ransom was demanded the same day, but neither the boy nor the kidnapper was ever heard from again.

Burgess became the prime suspect in the kidnapping case when he led authorities to where he believed the body was buried. The boy was not found, but one of his shoes was discovered.

Burgess was charged with the boy's kidnapping, but a jury acquitted him in 1981. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison on other charges not related to the boy's disappearance.

On Monday prosecutors charged Burgess with two counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition. According to court records, Burgess allegedly sold the confidential witness and an undercover FBI agent a .22-caliber handgun and silencer on June 22 for $700. The gun also came with bullets and rubber gloves.

On Thursday Burgess allegedly sold a semi-automatic assault rifle to the undercover agent, at which time he also made the alleged threats against former U.S. District Judge Harry Claiborne, Goodman and an unidentified third person.

Claiborne presided over a criminal case involving Burgess, and Goodman represented Sol Sayegh in a criminal case unrelated to his child's disappearance.

Burgess is scheduled to make a preliminary hearing Oct. 26.