Plea for calm as fans await Jacko verdict

THE jury in Michael Jackson’s sex-abuse trial deliberated yesterday for the third full day as a small army of fans waited anxiously outside court and an adviser to the pop star pleaded for calm.

The eight women and four men, who were handed the case by Superior Court Judge Rodney Melville last week, had spent about 14 hours deliberating as of Tuesday without reaching a verdict. They asked only one question, which the judge did not make public.

The jurors are seen only when they arrive and depart. They are shuttled in two white vans and escorted by sheriff’s deputies.