Blake's Bail Ruling Postponed Again

By Stephen M. Silverman

06/19/2002 at 05:48 PM EDT

No bail decision was reached Tuesday in the case of Robert Blake, who will have to wait nine more days to find out if he's eligible for release from a Los Angeles jail, reports the Associated Press. The ex-"Baretta" star, 68, has been behind bars since his April 18 arrest on charges of murdering Bonny Lee Bakley, 44, on May 4, 2001. Judge Lloyd Nash said he needed to study the law on issues raised by both sides in a blizzard of motions, said the AP. The focal point of the judge's decision is whether Blake allegedly planned and solicited Bakley's murder, which occurred in the family car parked outside a Studio City, Calif., restaurant where the couple had just dined. If that had been the case, then under California law Blake must stand accused of the special circumstance of "lying in wait," which automatically disqualifies bail. New York's Daily News described the actor as looking relaxed in the courtroom at Tuesday's hearing, at which he sported a blue, pinstriped suit. He also had pals there, said the AP: satirist Mort Sahl and actor and Quaker Oats pitchman Wilford Brimley. "We're 40-year friends," Sahl, 75, told the news service outside the courtroom. "I think when he gets his day in court it will all be clarified. I think he'll be fine." What was resolved in court was to allow Blake's alleged co-conspirator, bodyguard Earle Caldwell, to retain his attorney, Arna Zlotnik. The prosecution had wanted her removed, citing a conflict of interest because Blake is reportedly paying her legal bills on behalf of Caldwell.