Jackson Gives Authorities a DNA Sample

Michael Jackson voluntarily gave a DNA sample to Santa Barbara County investigators during a search at his Neverland Ranch on Saturday, sources close to the case said Sunday.

Investigators swabbed Jackson’s mouth for a saliva sample, the sources said. It was the first DNA sample taken from the pop star in the course of an investigation that has lasted more than a year, they said.

Santa Barbara County authorities would not comment, except to acknowledge that a search had taken place. A gag order in the case prevents attorneys and law enforcement officials from publicly discussing it.

Jackson is charged with molesting a 12-year-old boy and engaging in a conspiracy to cover it up. His trial is set to start Jan. 31, but some legal experts think that it may be delayed because of likely court battles over the weekend search at his 2,300-acre ranch.

Police investigators with search warrants stayed at the ranch for more than nine hours, videotaping certain areas and taking measurements of various rooms. Animation experts and engineers aided the investigators, whose work could be helpful in producing court exhibits related to the alleged crime scene, the sources said.

Police arrived at the ranch about 9 a.m. Friday, surprising Jackson and his three children. Shortly afterward, Jackson’s lead attorney, Thomas A. Mesereau Jr., flew by helicopter from Los Angeles to the isolated retreat 40 miles north of Santa Barbara. Jackson left the ranch to protect his children, sources said.

On Saturday, Jackson returned to the ranch and allowed investigators to take the DNA sample, the sources said.

In pretrial hearings, attorneys on both sides have alluded to a number of forensic tests that have already been performed in the case, including an analysis of Jackson’s mattress and bedding. Such tests are routine in child-molestation cases, prosecutor Ron Zonen said at a recent pretrial hearing in Santa Maria.

Under an order from Santa Barbara County Superior Court Judge Rodney S. Melville, today is the deadline for prosecutors and defense attorneys to share all the evidence they have gathered in their independent investigations.

“It’s sort of suspicious timing right before the discovery deadline,” said Laurie Levenson, a former federal prosecutor who teaches at Loyola Law School, about the weekend search. “The defense has not been particularly forthcoming in their reciprocal discovery duties. Maybe this is the prosecution saying, ‘If you don’t give us what we want, we’ll come and get it.’ ”

More than 100 search warrants have been issued in the case so far, and searches have been conducted at the office of a Beverly Hills private investigator and the home of a top Jackson aide, in addition to the searches at Neverland. Most of the warrants have sought credit card bills, bank statements and telephone records.