Much-loved bailiff Stony Jackson Jr. dies

Stony Jackson Jr., a beloved bailiff in Clark County courts for nearly three decades, died Wednesday night at a hospice facility in Las Vegas after a lengthy illness.

Jackson, who spent his early childhood in a Texas orphanage after his father killed his mother, had no birth certificate or Social Security card. But, based on accounts of his life he has given over the years, he most likely was 72 or 73 at the time of his death.

The retired bailiff has been described as a trailblazer, a legend, an institution -- even the courthouse "mayor."

"He's an icon," District Judge David Barker said Thursday.

Hundreds of people turned out for Jackson's retirement party in 2007 at the Regional Justice Center, where he was toasted by the Clark County sheriff, district attorney, chief district judge and a Las Vegas councilman.

"Nobody has come together for anyone like that before or since," said Elana Roberto, now an assistant to Municipal Judge Susan Roger.

By the time he retired, Jackson had about 50 years of law enforcement experience under his belt.

Roberto met Jackson in 1989 and began working with him in 1991. They spent 12 years together on the staff of District Judge Jeffrey Sobel and two years together on the staff of District Judge Jackie Glass.

"If you didn't like Stony, there was something wrong with you," Roberto said. She spoke during a conference call with Barker and Alona Candito. All three considered Jackson a close friend.

Candito met Jackson in 1988, when they both worked for District Judge Earle White Jr. They joined Sobel's staff when he took office in January 1991.

"He was full of life. He was full of energy," Candito said of Jackson. "There was something about him that made you want to be near him."

Walking anywhere with Jackson "was like escorting the grand marshal of the parade," she said.

Candito and Roberto both recalled how even a simple lunch outing would turn into an ordeal as Jackson stopped to greet all the people he knew along the way.

Jackson said as much during a 2002 interview with the Review-Journal:

"My wife doesn't like to go anywhere with me because we keep getting stopped by people I know. It takes us three or four hours to get somewhere.

"If I've got an enemy out there, I don't know it."

Candito described Jackson as "perfectly loyal." She also fondly remembered him as a prankster.

"He was so mischievous," she said.

Roberto said Jackson "came from absolutely nothing."

"He could have been bitter," she said.

Jackson made history in Texas as the first black deputy sheriff hired in Potter County, which encompasses Amarillo.

"The blacks called me an Uncle Tom, and the whites called me a nigger," Jackson told the Review-Journal in 2002. "It was tough."

He rose through the ranks of the Potter County Sheriff's Department and also started a private detective business in Texas. A chance encounter with legendary gaming figure Benny Binion eventually brought him to Las Vegas.

Jackson said Binion, in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service at the time, told him, "If you ever have any problems, come out to Las Vegas, and I've got a job for you."

Eventually, Jackson took Binion up on the offer, moving to Las Vegas to take a security job at Binion's Horseshoe.

Jackson was hired by White, then a justice of the peace, in 1980.

Phil Pattee, now a lawyer employed by the State Bar of Nevada, was working as a Review-Journal reporter later that decade when Jackson called him in his second-floor office at the old Clark County Courthouse and asked him to come downstairs.

When Pattee arrived, he learned that Jackson was about to marry his bride, Carolyn. Pattee was recruited to serve as best man during the ceremony, which White conducted.

"I had to make this impromptu best-man toast," Pattee recalled Thursday.

Jackson and his wife would raise five daughters together.

Barker said he met Jackson in 1983, when he began working as a deputy district attorney, fresh out of law school. Jackson immediately befriended him and became his mentor.

The judge said Jackson was a certified firearms instructor and expert marksman.

Jackson was working as Sobel's bailiff when he gave the 2002 interview.

"I love every minute of my job," Jackson said at the time. "This is like a second home for me."

Contact reporter Carri Geer Thevenot at cgeer@reviewjournal.com or 702-384-8710.