Arrest Warrant Issued for Michael Jackson

November 19th, 2003

Arrest Warrant Issued for Michael Jackson

Yesterday morning at around 8:30 a.m., investigators from the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Department and the Santa Barbara District Attorney's Office served a search warrant at the Neverland Ranch in Los Olivos. Simultaneous to the service of the warrant at the Neverland Ranch, two search warrants were also served in Southern California.

Approximately seventy investigators from the Sheriff's Department and the District Attorney's Office were involved in the service of the warrant at the Neverland Ranch. The operation was concluded at around 11:00 P.M. last night. The service of these warrants was part of an ongoing investigation alleging criminal misconduct on the part of Michael Jackson.

The basis for this investigation regarding Mr. Jackson involves allegations of Child Molestation, 288 (a) of the California Penal Code.

Additionally, an arrest warrant for Mr. Jackson has been issued for multiple counts of Child Molestation. The bail amount on the warrant has been set at 3 million dollars.

Mr. Jackson has been given the opportunity to surrender himself to the custody of the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Department within a specified period of time. We are currently working with Mr. Jackson's legal representatives on this matter.

Mr. Jackson has also been directed to surrender his passport when he is taken into custody.

While we appreciate the level of interest generated by this case, the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Department is committed to maintain the integrity of this investigation with respect to both legal and ethical considerations.

We will not be commenting on issues specific to this investigation beyond what has already been released.

Jim Anderson,
SHERIFF

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