Burgess indicted on weapons charges

Thursday, Oct. 26, 2000 | 10:40 a.m.

Jerald Howard Burgess, a convicted felon who was acquitted in the disappearance of a Las Vegas boy 22 years ago, has been indicted on weapons charges.

Burgess, 63, was indicted Wednesday by a federal grand jury on one count of felon in possession of a firearm and one count of felon in possession of ammunition.

Specifically, the indictment alleges, Burgess, who is in custody, was in possession of a Ruger .22 caliber handgun and about 30 7.62 mm cartridges.

Earlier this month, U.S. Magistrate Judge Phyllis Adkins said that Burgess posed a danger to the community after prosecutors presented pictures of two firearms he allegedly sold to an undercover agent. Other evidence was presented that Burgess allegedly threatened to kill a former federal judge and Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman.

Burgess was arrested by the FBI 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 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.