Casing the Jewel Store

"Michael and Lester scout out a Jewellers in Little Portola."

- Description.

Casing the Jewel Store is a mission in Grand Theft Auto V, given to Michael De Santa by Lester Crest.

Mission
First, Michael has to drive to the Vangelico Jewel Store. Once on location, Lester instructs him to walk in and use a pair of camera-glasses to take pictures of the displays, ventilation and alarm system.

Afterwards, the player must drive around the block and go upstairs to the roof via a building in renovation in order to scout for the store's ventilation sources.

Back at the garment factory, Lester sets up a planning board and offers two ways to execute the heist to Michael :

Choosing the loud approach will unlock the following setup mission:
 * Carbine Rifles

Choosing the smart approach will unlock the following setup missions :
 * Bugstars Equipment
 * BZ Gas Grenades

Crew
The following characters are available to complete Michael, Lester and Franklin's crew.

Driver

 * Eddie Toh - If chosen, he'll give directions and bring dirt bikes, making it easier to drive in the tunnels.
 * Karim Denz - If chosen, he won't give directions while escaping, he will have to stop inside the tunnels to get his bearings only if Norm was chosen and fell his bike, and the street bikes he provides will handle poorly in the mud.

Gunman

 * Gustavo Mota - If chosen, he won't drop any diamonds and won't crash his bike. However he'll competently keep the customers in check if the loud approach is taken, thus if you took Karim as the driver, he won't get all the jewelry leaving you with $4.5M
 * Norm Richards - If chosen, he misses a lot of diamonds during the heist bringing down your maximum take to about $4.5M and crashes his bike in the tunnels, dropping his bag and adding casualty expenses. It is however possible for Franklin to grab his bag while riding over it.
 * Packie McReary* - If chosen, he won't drop any diamonds and won't crash his bike. He'll also competently keep the customers in check if the loud approach is taken.

Hacker

 * Paige Harris - If chosen, you will have 90 seconds to grab the jewels.
 * Christian Feltz - If chosen, you will have 60 seconds to grab the jewels.
 * Rickie Luckens** - If chosen, you will only have 30 seconds to grab all the jewels.

*Only if you completed the character's stranger task. **Only if you received his call after the mission Friend Request.

For maximum cash, the best choice is Karim Denz for the driver, Rickie Luckens for the hacker, and Patrick McReary for the gunman adding well over $1.2M for Michael.

Choosing Norm Richards for the gunman, even if you collect Richards' bag after he is killed is still a worse choice because he adds casualty expenses and misses a lot of diamonds during the actual heist, meaning even if you smash all cases you still get only about $4.5M (the maximum take is $4,946,153)

Also if you choose loud, the gunman will have to keep all the hostages down and the driver will collect the jewelry with Michael instead, if Karim is the driver, he won't get all of the jewelry leaving you with $4.5M.

Mission Objectives

 * Go to Vangelico Jewel Store.
 * Take a picture of the alarm system.
 * Take a picture of the ventilation outlet and the security camera.
 * Speack with the attendant.
 * Go back to Lester.
 * Find a way to climb the jewelry.
 * Go to the highest point of the building.
 * Take a picture of the ventilation system.
 * Go back to Lester.
 * Return to Darnell Bros..
 * Choose the heist method.
 * Choose your crew.

Gold Medal Objectives

 * Time - Complete within 08:00.
 * Picture Perfect - Capture all three security features in one picture.

Trivia

 * At the beginning of the mission, Michael says that there need to be a crew, stating that he could "round up some of the old guys". Lester tells him there are no old guys. After he mentions some of the old crew members, some of which may be references to older GTA games ("That crew from the south" could mean the gang from Vice City), he mentions an Eastern European guy who was "making moves in Liberty City". This is a reference to Niko Bellic, the protagonist of GTA IV. When Lester adds to Niko "going quiet" in the end, the player could assume he retired from the crime life like Michael had, according to GTA IV canon. This is the only time he is mentioned in GTA V, with the exception of Packie McReary referencing him about his jobs with Niko once you find and recruit him.
 * Lester also says that "all those crazy Irish guys disappeared", a possibly reference to the McReary Crime Family.
 * Adding to the above, Lester says he "has been working with someone, but they are too unpredictable". He is probably refering to your GTA Online character, seeing as you can do whatever you want with your character, and GTA Online takes place before the events of GTA V.
 * When Michael and Lester discuss how was Michael's old crew, Lester indirectly mentions Trevor. Lester says, "North. South. East. West. Wherever there were liquor stores to turn over and hitchhikers to disappear." This refers to Trevor's meth lab and his cannibalism activities.