November 21, 2003	Friday	Ramazan 25, 1424

SANTA BARBARA, Nov 20: Pop star Michael Jackson prepared to surrender on Thursday to California authorities to face child molestation accusations while his lawyers tried to engineer a way to avoid a paparazzi extravaganza, a Jackson family lawyer said.

Jackson’s attorney, Mark Geragos, was working out the details with the Santa Barbara sheriff, and efforts were under way to raise the three million dollar bail needed to free the “Thriller” singer, attorney Brian Oxman said.

“The purpose of this is so he will walk into the police department and he will walk out and it will be a quick, easy thing,” Oxman said. “The key is he doesn’t want it to become a spectacle.”

A Jackson friend in Las Vegas, Steve Manning, said that the 45-year-old pop star had left the gambling mecca earlier in the day headed for Santa Barbara.

Oxman said he did not know where the King of Pop was or where and when Jackson would turn himself in for fingerprinting and booking.

He added that the eccentric superstar’s family, while “very supportive,” planned to stay out of the spotlight. “I spoke to (Jackson’s older brother) Randy last night. He just thinks this is crazy. Nobody will make any statements until it seems to be under control.”

Oxman said the family was prepared to step in, if necessary, to care for Jackson’s three children, ages 6,5 and 2. “He is not a danger to them,” Oxman said.

A small army of reporters and photographers has staked out sheriff’s stations and air fields throughout the central California county, as well as Jackson’s sprawling Neverland Ranch since authorities announced on Wednesday that they had a warrant for the 45-year-old singer’s arrest.—Reuters