by John M. Curtis
(310) 204-8700

Copyright March 17, 2003
All Rights Reserved.

osting a $1.5 million bond, 69-year-old actor Robert Blake was sprung from 10 months in Los Angeles County jail on charges that he shot to death his wife Bonnie Lee Bakley on May 4, 2001, only two blocks from Vitellos, his favorite Italian restaurant in the chic suburb of Studio City. Before Bakely's body cooled, Blake had already set up a firewall with the media, retaining Hollywood criminal defense attorney Harlan W. Braun as his mouthpiece. Rather than face reporters, Blake was hospitalized with "chest pains," unable to comment. Though reportedly paying Braun a $450,000 retainer, the flamboyant attorney left Blake high-and-dry, after he refused to follow his advice. "The scenario appears to be one in which Mr. Blake had the time, opportunity and motive to commit shooting," said Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Lloyd M. Nash binding Blake over for trial.

    For the past 10 months, Los Angeles County District attorney argued against Blake's bail because of the special circumstance called "lying in wait." In the three-week long preliminary hearing, Blake's new criminal defense attorney Thomas Mesereau told the judge that the DA didn't have a shred of evidence linking Blake to Bakely's murder. Prosecutors originally claimed they had ballistic evidence—including gunpowder residue—indicating Blake fired the murder weapon. Yet, the DA couldn't prove Blake owned the rare Walther P-38 German-made handgun or shell casings recovered near the crime scene or ammo at Blake's Studio City home. Even the criminologist couldn't say for sure whether the gunpowder residue found on Blake's hands matched that of the murder weapon. In the end, Judge Nash agreed to bail, requiring Blake to wear a special electronic surveillance device.

    Blake claimed on the night of the murder that he and Bakely left the restaurant, walked to his car, where he told Bakely to wait in the passenger's seat while he returned to the restaurant to recover this handgun that accidentally slipped out of his waste-band during dinner. When he returned to the car, Blake claimed he saw Bakely slumped in her seat, bleeding from the head. No Vitellos' employee—including owner Joe Restivo—corroborated Blake's story that he returned to the restaurant looking for his gun. Trying the case in the press, Blake's first attorney smartly trashed Bakely's character, painting her as a hardcore "grifter," ripping off lonely-hearts who had a motive to kill her. Braun also speculated at the time that a mysterious serial killer was loose in the neighborhood, pointing fingers away from the most logical candidate. If nothing else, Meseraeau created enough reasonable doubt for Judge Lloyd to grant bail.

    Leaving Superior court with his attorney Blake broke his silence with the media. "I'm gonna go sleep for three or four days," he told the press, ordering his attorney, "Give me a cigarette." Ten months of solitary confinement loosened Blake's inhibitions. "I never thought I'd make it 11 months in a cement box but I'm here . . ." While the DA won the right to try Blake for soliciting murder, conspiracy to commit murder and a special allegation of lying in wait, the judge agreed with the defense that Blake was neither a flight risk nor a danger to society. If the DA presented compelling evidence—not simply establishing motive—Judge Lloyd would not have granted bail, even with special electronic monitoring. "There is no evidence what happened when Bonnie Lee Bakely was shot," said Mesereau, deprecating the DA's case, blaming the Los Angeles Police Department for contaminating the evidence.

    While Blake's net worth is estimated at between $6-10 million, his legal costs could exceed $3 million, with the cadre of attorneys and experts needed for a successful defense. Blake also posted a $1 million bond for his bodyguard and co-defendant Earl S. Caldwell, not to mention paying for his attorney Arna H. Zlotnik. Citing conflicts of interest, the DA tried to get Zlotnik off the case, but Judge Lloyd sided with Blake. Blake also hired potential prosecution witness William C. Jordan as a private investigator, confounding the DA's case. "The costs add up very quickly," said Lawyer Leonard Sharenow, suggesting that Blake would also have to pay for a mock trial, testing the effectiveness theories, defense witnesses, experts and jurors. By the time Blake goes to trial, he expects to have his own "dream team" to upend the DA's case. Whatever the price, Blake knows the stakes, especially after getting a taste of the "cement box."

    Trying the case in the media, Messereau has made good use of recent LAPD scandals and other celebrity murder trials. While there's no blood, hair, fiber or "bloody footprints," Blake's proximity to the murder and glaring inconsistencies on the night of the crime still make him the prime suspect. It doesn't help that at least two witnesses—Blake's former stuntmen—testified that he propositioned them to "whack" Bakely the exact way in which the murder unfolded. "He planned it and he carried it out. Each one of the scenarios that Blake suggested to the two stuntmen contemplated ambush and lying in wait," said Deputy District Attorney Pat Dixon, knowing full well that Blake's threats against Bakely don't constitute convincing evidence. No matter how aged or miserable Blake looked, Judge Lloyd didn't grant bail because it was the "humane thing" to do. So far, prosecutors don't look too good in the early rounds.

About the Author

John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He's editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.

©1999-2002 Discobolos Consulting Services, Inc.
(310) 204-8300
All Rights Reserved.