QUICK TAKES - Oct. 23, 2009
A judge in the Bahamas has ordered a mistrial in the case of an alleged extortion attempt against John Travolta, and a top court official said Thursday that a new trial is not likely to start before next year.
Senior Justice Anita Allen said Wednesday night that she was reluctantly ordering a new trial because a politician announced that one of the defendants would be freed, giving the appearance of an improper leak from the jury room, where the case was being deliberated.
Ambulance driver Tarino Lightbourne and his attorney, politician Pleasant Bridgewater, were 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, at the family vacation home in Grand Bahama on Jan. 2. They denied the allegations.
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