After arrest, pop star takes crowds for a ride

Christina Littlefield and Sito Negron

Friday, Nov. 21, 2003 | 11:12 a.m.

Just a few reporters and photographers prowling the tarmac at Henderson Executive Airport greeted Michael Jackson when his plane landed at 3:15 p.m. Thursday.

But a rolling party developed as Michael Jackson's three-car entourage left about 4 p.m. and drove in a 30-mile, two-hour loop from Henderson west past the Strip, then east toward Green Valley Ranch Station Casino.

Helicopters buzzed overhead, capturing the convoy on live television and drawing people out of their homes and into cars to witness firsthand what turned into a worldwide media event.

The images, coupled with the use of cell phones, allowed the curious and the supportive to catch up to the growing line of cars, which grew to hundreds by the time it got to the hotel about 6 p.m.

By then, after two hours of winding through valley surface streets, it had taken on a festive, frantic atmosphere.

"I shook that man's hand!" yelled one fan through the open passenger window as his car rolled past the intersection of Green Valley Parkway and Corporate Circle Drive, blocks from Green Valley Ranch Station.

Sources told the Sun that Jackson was seen leaving the casino with his children about 4 this morning. The Jacksons are expected to return this afternoon to CMX's Las Vegas studios, where he produced a music video over the last few weeks, CMX spokesman Dean Delorean said. He would not specify which members of the family would be there.

Sheriff Bill Young said he was unhappy that Metro Police had to use its resources to ensure the peace during Jackson's jaunt through the streets.

"We had cops having to shadow this parade," Young said. "I don't see it as a good use of our resources. We've got enough crime to look out for."

Young said he also was bothered by the way people ran into the streets to greet Jackson's motorcade as it came to a halt at stoplights.

"I was very concerned about people running out and getting run over," he said.

At the casino, the parking lots quickly were filling up, although a few already staked out positions in various areas of the hotel, from the garage elevators to the lobby and to the adjacent Whiskey Bar. The onlookers ranged from die-hard fans to those simply seeking a brush with fame.

Linda Perlmutter, 45, drove with her children from Summerlin.

"They were very excited and I know how it feels as a kid, with your heart pounding and the smiles on their faces," Perlmutter said. "And I felt like a kid, too."

She and her sons, Jason, 14, and Jake, 10, never did see Jackson. But they had to try, said Jason, even though he was sick. "I told my mom we need to go," he said.

Adam Shafer, a 20-year-old hotel administration major at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, said, "He's just a huge celebrity, so why not? I want to say I saw Michael Jackson."

Security was beefed up around the lobby and nearby pool area just as the helicopters following Jackson's entourage approached the hotel about 6 p.m. People who could not prove they were a guest of the hotel were asked to leave the lobby.

But people improvised.

One young couple, John Quijano, 20, and Michelle Wynn, 21, staked out the phone booth just off the lobby where they had a clear view of the front doors. They called random family members to add validity to their guise. Quijano also had a radio cell phone that he was using -- unsuccessfully -- to lock onto the conversations between security guards at the hotel.

The couple said they were there "because we have nothing better to do."

If Jackson appeared, they planned to just watch, Quijano said.

"I'm not going to scream, 'Michael, Michael' and pass out or anything," Quijano said.

The couple gave up shortly after 6 p.m. when a security guard said "It's a done deal, he's in the building."

Others stuck around, still hoping to see the King of Pop. Most said they would keep their distance if he actually appeared.

"I'm mostly curious to see what he looks like in real life," Sid Adler, 42, said.

Like many others following Jackson Thursday, he had an opinion on whether the former child star -- who Adler said he listened to as a child himself -- was guilty of child molestation.

"You can't be an international star like he was at the age of 9 and not come out screwed up," Adler said.

Not everyone agreed with that assessment.

As the media tracked Jackson from the Henderson airport to the CMX Studio at Flamingo Road and Valley View Boulevard, where he had shot a video, fans gathered.

When told Jackson had posted a $3 million bail and returned to Las Vegas, fan Melanie Sharratt said, "Good for him." Like Adler, she said she had listened to Jackson since he was with the Jackson Five in the 1970s.

"I'm a fan of his," Sharratt said. "I don't believe he did it."

Brian Green, 15, held a sign that said "100 percent innocent" to welcome Jackson back to Las Vegas.

"We love the truth. I went shopping with Michael at the Forum Shops," said Green, a reference to Jackson's recent well-publicized excursion.

His mother Donna Green, 39, took her son from CMX to Green Valley Ranch Station. She said she's met Jackson, and believes he is innocent.

"I know his heart," she said. "If we see him, great, but my main purpose is to show the media I support him."

CNN television talk show host Larry King, who was at The Mirage Thursday to serve as master of ceremonies for the "Rock for the Cure" benefit for the nonprofit Nevada Cancer Insitute, said he expected his TV program tonight to focus on Jackson.

King said his guests will include attorney Larry Feldman, who represented Jackson's child accuser in a molestation civil suit a decade ago before settling for an undisclosed amount. King said he also hoped to have a representative from Jackson's camp.

"We made him famous," King said of his long association with Jackson, a frequent guest of the show.

Musician and producer Nile Rodgers, who worked on Jackson's "HIStory" album and co-wrote such Disco-era hits as "Le Freak" and "We Are Family," said he was shocked by the charges against his longtime friend and professional colleague.

"I have to go with my personal feelings on this," Rodgers said. "He's the kindest person, one of the nicest people you could ever meet."

Rodgers said that a few years ago he brought a terminally ill girl to meet the singer and that Jackson's generosity had given the girl "the best day of her life."

Although many have a strong opinion one way or the other about Jackson, others simply don't care. It was the media frenzy -- either to watch it, or to participate in it, or both -- that commanded their interest.

Sun reporters

Dan Kulin, Mary Manning and Emily Richmond contributed to this report

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