The Jewel Store Job

Overview

The Jewel Store Job is the first major heist of Grand Theft Auto V. Michael De Santa needs to repay Martin Madrazo for the house he wrecked in Marriage Counseling, so he turns to his old planner Lester Crest. The target is the Vangelico jewelry store in Rockford Hills, and the job brings Franklin Clinton into his first big score. It also introduces the heist system: scouting, choosing an approach, hiring crew and completing setup missions.

Setup missions

• Casing the Jewel Store: Michael scouts Vangelico disguised as a worker and photographs its security features, then picks an approach with Lester.
• Bugstars Equipment (smart): steal a Bugstars exterminator van to use as cover.
• BZ Gas Grenades (smart): hijack a van carrying knockout gas grenades.
• Carbine Rifles (loud): steal assault rifles from a police tactical vehicle.

Approaches

• Smart: the crew parks the Bugstars van outside, and Franklin crosses the rooftops to drop gas into the store's air vent. Everyone inside is knocked out, and the crew loots the cabinets in silence until the alarm triggers. The hacker determines how long the alarm stays down.
• Loud: the crew storms in wearing helmets and holds the staff and customers at gunpoint while smashing cabinets. A skilled gunman stops the manager from causing trouble; a poor one lets a hostage slip away.

Both approaches lead to the same escape. Franklin, the driver and the gunman flee on motorcycles through the storm drains of Los Santos, while Michael and the hacker bring a truck to the Los Santos River and ram aside the waiting police cars. The bikes are loaded into the truck and driven to Lester's lockup.

Crew and tips

The job needs a driver, a gunman and a hacker. Cheaper, weaker crew members gain experience and improve in later heists, while poor picks lose part of the loot here.

• Paige Harris gives the longest window before the alarm, but any hacker works if you move quickly.
• A strong gunman such as Packie McReary or Gustavo Mota avoids lost jewelry and hostage trouble.
• Karim Denz drops loot in the loud approach, but is fine for the smart approach and gains experience for later.
• Smash all twenty cabinets for the maximum take, and protect Franklin during the river chase for a gold medal.

Payout

The maximum gross take is about $4.95 million. Of that, $2.5 million goes straight to Madrazo, Lester and the hired crew take their cuts, and the rest is split between Michael and Franklin, with Michael keeping the larger share. The robbery's news coverage is what alerts Trevor Philips that Michael is still alive, setting up the next chapter of the story.