Judge declares mistrial in John Travolta extortion case

Things are slow in island time, so we'll use that as the reason why nobody heard Bahamian judge Anita Allen declare a mistrial in the John Travolta extortion case late Wednesday night. The reason? Somebody spilled the beans that former Sen. Pleasant Bridgewater was acquitted.

Jurors were still deliberating when lawmaker Picewell Forbes announced to an audience at a Progressive Liberal Party convention that party member Bridgewater would be cleared, the AP reports.

"Pleasant is a free woman, PLPs! God is good, PLPs! Pleasant is a free woman!" Forbes said, prompting cheers from the crowd. Later on, the party's deputy chairman-elect, Alex Storr, said Forbes had misspoken and apologized, but it was too late.

Allen said she had to dismiss the jurors, who had been deliberating for nine hours and had just listened to a month of testimony about Bridgewater and ambulance driver Tarino Lightbourne. Allen cited the appearance of an improper leak in the courtroom. To review, the pair are accused of demanding $25 million from Travolta to keep them from releasing private information about the death of Travolta's 16-year-old son, Jett.

"This came out of the clear blue; this was so weird," Mike Ossi, one of Travolta’s lawyers from Florida (and a prosecution witness) told People. Ossi said trouble started when a cop heard the news on TV: "The police officer said, 'It looks like Pleasant got off.' " 

There's no indication of when a new trial would start, but Bahamas chief magistrate Roger Gomez said early 2010 is likely.

[Photo: Travolta and Kelly Preston at the courthouse on Sept. 23. AP]

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John Travolta testifies in Bahamas extortion trial again

From the AP: John Travolta testified Wednesday that a Bahamas paramedic threatened to sell stories to the news media suggesting the movie star was at fault in the death of his 16-year-old son, Jett.

Travolta said paramedic Tarino Lightbourne, who is now on trial for extortion, demanded $25 million.

If he did not pay, Travolta told the jury, Lightbourne indicated he would use against him a consent document that the actor initially signed refusing to have Jett sent to a local hospital. The document cleared Lightbourne of any liability.

"They were stories that would imply that the death of my son was intentional and I was culpable in some way," Travolta said.

Travolta was testifying in the second week of the trial of Lightbourne and Pleasant Bridgewater, a former Bahamas senator who allegedly negotiated with the actor's lawyers for the medic. Both defendants have pleaded not guilty.

Travolta testified last week that he signed the document because he initially wanted his son flown to Florida for treatment. But Jett, who had suffered a seizure at a family vacation home on Grand Bahama island, was taken instead to a local hospital, where he died on Jan. 2.

[Photo: Travolta and wife Kelly Preston last week. AP]

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John Travolta testifies in Bahamas extortion trial

From the AP: John Travolta testified Wednesday that he desperately performed CPR on his son Jett after a nanny alerted him around 10:15 a.m. on Jan. 2 that the teen had fallen ill at a family vacation home on Grand Bahama island.

"I ran downstairs with my wife to help my son," Travolta said in a Nassau courtroom.

Travolta is the star witness at the trial of  paramedic Tarino Lightbourne and former Bahamas senator Pleasant Bridgewater, who are accused of trying to extort $25 million from the movie star. Both defendants pleaded not guilty to extortion charges.

Travolta said Jett, 16, was autistic and suffered seizures every five to 10 days. He said the seizures would last 45 seconds to a minute and Jett typically slept for 12 hours after each one.

"He was autistic. He suffered from a seizure disorder," Travolta told the jury when asked about his son's condition.

Police say the alleged scheme involved a document related to Jett's treatment. It would have released emergency responders from liability if the family refused an ambulance but police said that did not happen. A police officer testified Tuesday that Travolta signed the release because he initially wanted his son taken to the airport instead of a local hospital.

[Photo: Travolta with wife Kelly Preston on Wednesday. AP]

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Bahamas judge denies bail request in Travolta case

In incremental legal doings, Bahamian Magistrate Carolita Bethel refused on Wednesday to lower the bail requirement for ambulance driver Tarino Lightbourne, who accused of trying to extort $25 million from actor John Travolta following his son Jett's death, the AP reports.

Lightbourne, one of the paramedics who tried to revive the 16-year-old, has been held since Jan. 23 on charges of attempted extortion and conspiracy to extort money. Bethel said he could apply again next month to reduce his $50,000 bail requirement if it still has not been met.

Lightbourne and former Sen. Pleasant Bridgewater allegedly demanded the money in exchange for suppressing a document related to the treatment of the celebrity's son, who died on Jan. 2 after he suffered a seizure at a family vacation home. According to police, the document would have released emergency responders from liability if the family refused an ambulance. That did not happen in Jett's case, they said.

It not clear why the pair allegedly believed the Travoltas would pay to keep the document from being released. Another hearing was scheduled for April 16.

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Second suspect in Travolta case is charged

The second suspect in the alleged John Travolta extortion case, ambulance driver Tarino Lightbourne, has been formally charged with attempting to extort and conspiracy to extort, Us magazine says.

Minister of National Security Tommy Turnquest told the mad that the 47-year-old pleaded not guilty Monday to allegedly trying to extort $25 million from the Travolta family. Former tourism minister Obie Wilchcombe still "has not been charged," Turnquest said. "He was not arrested; he was questioned on Friday."

The other suspect in the case, Sen. Pleasant Bridgewater, is out on $40,000 bail on charget of abetment to extort and conspiracy to extort. (Our faithful lawyer Juice*heads will have to explain the difference to us. Please.) She has resigned her post.

What still is mystifying, however, is what exactly the conspiracy was. No outlets have been able to report what these folks were allegedly trying to extort them with. If it's that Jett Travolta had a mental disorder, we've heard that one before.

[Photo: AP]

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Arrests made in John Travolta extortion case

From the AP:

Authorities in the Bahamas have detained an island lawmaker and a paramedic in an alleged plot to extort as much as $20 million from actor John Travolta after the death of his son, police said Friday.

One of the suspects, ambulance driver Tarino Lightbourne, was detained on Friday. Earlier, several tabloids quoted him describing efforts to revive the celebrity's chronically ill son, Jett, who died of a seizure this month at their family vacation home on Grand Bahama.

Authorities did not reveal what the alleged extortion involved. Travolta and his wife Kelly Preston returned home to Florida with the ashes of their 16-year-old son, and Travolta's publicist Paul Bloch said Friday he has no comment.

Sen. Pleasant Bridgewater, an attorney from Grand Bahama, has been held for questioning since Thursday, Senior Assistant Commissioner of Police Marvin Dames told The Associated Press.

Dames said Lightbourne was detained after police issued an alert that he was wanted for attempted extortion, was "considered dangerous and should be approached with caution."

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TMZ adds that Obie Wilchcombe, the former Minister of Tourism, also was arrested in the plot. Wilchcombe was a close friend of the family, and just Thursday commented on how the family was dealing with the tragedy.

"I thought it was a despicable act. One person should not destroy the character of the country," he said.

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Police investigate $20 million extortion attempt against John Travolta in son Jett's death

Bahamian police are investigating a possible extortion plot against John Travolta, but contrary to earlier rumors, the allegations are not over photos of his dying son, Jett, TMZ reports.

The rumor was that several people have demanded $20 million from Travolta in exchange for photos of Jett's death from seizure being kept private. The site says police are rather looking into an alleged extortion attempt concerning the circumstances surrounding the 16-year-old's death.

TMZ says Travolta's reps are the once who contacted police. Sources tell the site the complaint came in a week ago and that the proceedings will be over "very shortly."

[Photo: AP]

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Travoltas thank Ocala for all the recent support

John Travolta, Kelly Preston and their daughter Ella wrote a letter expressing their thanks to the city of Ocala and its residents in a letter published Monday in the Ocala Star-Banner. In it they say they appreciate everyone's support in an"impossibly painful situation," following Thursday's memorial service for 16-year-old son Jett:

"To The People of Ocala

"The enormous amount of love, support and condolence we have received from this community has been most humbling. Comforting words, thoughts and prayers of Ocala’s citizens have made an impossibly painful situation, a little less painful.

"The actions of Ocala’s community leaders, its law enforcement professionals, our neighbors at Jumbolair and its surrounding communities have offered us the dignity to grieve the loss of our son and Ella’s brother in peace. For this we will always be grateful.

"From the people who drove hours to drop off cards and flowers at our doorstep, to the service providers who made Jett’s ceremony so beautiful, thank you. Every person who we have encountered has offered to do anything in their power to help us, but add that they feel powerless to do so. We want all of you to know that you have already helped us. By sharing our grief, you lessen our burden. For all of the people who have kept Jett in their prayers, know that those prayers have given us inspiration and strength.

"What we have experienced in Ocala transcends neighborly civility. We have been treated as family. Although we lost a good part of the joy and radiance of our family, your embracing us as a member of your own has helped us to contend with our loss.

"In parting, we want all of you to cherish your loved ones and your friends like there was no tomorrow, to live your lives to the fullest by continuing to help one another, and to be true to yourselves.

"Love John, Kelly and Ella"

[Photo: AP]

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100 people attend service for Jett Travolta

Despite a media blackout, details have leaked out on the memorial service for Jett Travolta, the 16-year-old son of John Travolta and Kelly Preston who died after a seizure in the Bahamas last week.

The Ocala Star-Banner says about 100 people attended a 10-minute ceremony in a tent outside the family's home in Jumbolair Aviation Estates. Lisa Marie Presley, Garth Brooks, Trisha Yearwood, Forest Whitaker, James Gandolfini, Kirstie Allie and Cal Ripken Jr. were among the mourners.

A female minister from the Church of Scientology was the only speaker after the Travoltas (including 8-year-old Ella Blue) arrived, the paper says. After the service, John and Kelly kissed a photo of their son that was on display.

Whitaker and his wife, Keisha, were the only members of the service who issued a statement: "Our families have had a long loving friendship, and John and Kelly are amazing parents. We have watched each other's children grow and cannot imagine the loss of Jett. He was a bright and beautiful young man, and we are honored to have known him."

[Photo: Media outside the Travolta estate on Thursday. AP]

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Jett Travolta's funeral scheduled in Ocala

The funeral for Jett Travolta, the 16-year-old son of John Travolta and Kelly Preston was scheduled to be held in Ocala on Thursday, but security was so tight we haven't heard a word about it. Here a security guard talks with the driver of a pickup truck carrying a wreath of flowers at the entrance to Jumbolair, the Travoltas' estate, on Wednesday.

"I remember Jett when he was born," Tom Cruise said on Thursday's episode of The View. "I saw him when he was just a few months old and John just adored him, and both of his children, and Kelly. I just don't have the words for it,"

We'll provide details as they come out.

[Photo: AP]