Burglars took safe from Jones’ home

Stephen Curran

Thursday, Dec. 9, 2004 | 9:52 a.m.

Burglars who broke into the Summerlin home of former Las Vegas Mayor Jan Jones made off with a 400-pound safe holding years worth of heirloom jewelry, the politician-turned-gaming executive said Wednesday.

Jones said the burglars -- she figures it took more than one person to carry the heavy safe -- appear to have entered her 8,800-square-foot home on Moon Valley Place through a rear doggy door, which they loosened to reach a lock to open the door.

Once inside the thieves appear to have gone straight for safe, which was built into a wall in the home's master bedroom, she said. No other items were stolen.

The safe held heirloom jewelry the former mayor said was valuable both monetarily and sentimentally. She declined to put a dollar value on the stolen items.

Jones, whose voice wavered during a short telephone interview with the Sun, said she and her husband were Christmas shopping when the burglary took place. Upon returning they noticed a gate that led into their backyard was open and their dogs were behaving strangely.

They then noticed a back door leading into the home had been left open, apparently by the burglars, she said. The lock had been damaged, Jones said.

"They had jimmied the lock so you couldn't close it," Jones said.

Metro Police have stayed relatively tight-lipped about the burglary other than to say it is still under investigation. A statement released Wednesday afternoon said "numerous items of sentimental value" were missing from the home.

The former mayor said she believes the burglars -- who knew where the safe was located and disconnected the home's video surveillance cameras -- had been inside her property before.

"They'd obviously gone in and grabbed it," Jones said. "They knew where to go."

Jones said she did not know how the burglars would have made it into the housing development past the guards posted at the gate. Neighbors have told her they did not see anything unusual on Sunday, she said.

Jones served two terms as mayor from 1991 to 1999 and is now a Harrah's corporate vice president.

She is offering a $50,000 reward to anyone with information leading to the safe recovery of the jewelry. Crime Stoppers is offering a $2,000 reward as well. Anyone with information about the burglary can call Crime Stoppers at 385-5555.