Lone Burgess jury holdout denies he slept through trial

Tuesday, July 31, 2001 | 9:42 a.m.

In the 1950s melodrama "Twelve Angry Men," a lone holdout for acquittal overcomes the wrath of fellow jurors to painstakingly change their minds.

In a real-life Las Vegas courtroom drama Monday, a different ending to that scenario was written when some jurors in the federal firearms case against Jerald Burgess sent a note to U.S. District Judge Kent Dawson saying that juror Joe Pravda slept through much of the trial and was unaware of the facts.

The judge was not told they were deadlocked at 11-1 for conviction following less than two days of deliberations and that Pravda was the holdout.

After Dawson dismissed Pravda, the 11 remaining jurors found Burgess guilty of two counts of ex-felon in possession of a firearm, one count of possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number, one count of possession of an unregistered firearm and one count of a felon in possession of ammunition.

"The other jurors truly believed he (Burgess) was guilty and made their votes count, while my rights were infringed upon and my vote did not count because it was not convenient to them," Pravda said.

"I just couldn't find Mr. Burgess guilty because I feel he was absolutely duped into selling the guns. (Government informant Franklyn) Perry went over the line."

Pravda denied he slept through the weeklong trial last week, saying, "I knew all of the facts." Fellow jurors on Monday testified otherwise.

Burgess' attorney, Bob Glennen, said, "An appeal is likely."

Twenty years ago, Burgess was acquitted of kidnapping in what is considered the most notorious missing-child case in Las Vegas history. The FBI reopened the case a year and a half ago to try to find out what became of 6-year-old Cary Sayegh, who disappeared from his elementary school in Las Vegas in 1978.

Perry was used to gather information from the 64-year-old Burgess, according to trial testimony. Perry posed as a middle man for retail outlets that would sell jewelry that Burgess, a jeweler, made at his Las Vegas home. Their conversations, some of which were taped, led to the subject of guns.

Conflicting testimony as to who influenced whom to buy or sell guns was offered by Burgess and Perry at trial -- Burgess claiming he was framed by a government agent, Perry claiming he followed the FBI's instruction not to break laws.

A week before the Burgess trial, Perry was charged in state court with masterminding a pyramid scheme that allegedly bilked hundreds of investors out of millions of dollars. He testified wearing jail fatigues and leg shackles.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Peter Ko during closing arguments focused on how the "unrefuted evidence" pointed to two firearms and 800 rounds of ammunition being in Burgess' possession.

According to testimony, Burgess met a female undercover agent on June 22, 2000, at the parking lot of the Sante Fe hotel. Burgess allegedly sold the agent a .22-caliber handgun equipped with a silencer for $700. Burgess was arrested on Oct. 12 for providing Perry with a semiautomatic rifle.

Burgess, who years ago led police to a spot where one of Sayegh's shoes was found, also testified at his 1981 kidnapping trial and was found innocent by a Clark County District Court jury. He was never charged with Sayegh's murder. There is no statute of limitations for murder.

The Las Vegas Sun, under late publisher Hank Greenspun, launched a crusade in the late 1970s to try to find Sayegh and safely return him to his parents.