Blake Expected Back in Court Monday

By Stephen M. Silverman

05/20/2002 at 11:27 AM EDT

Robert Blake will have another day in court Monday, as Judge Lloyd Nash is expected to hear whether the ex-"Baretta" star, 68, should be allowed to pay legal defense costs for his bodyguard, Earle Caldwell, who allegedly helped him plan his wife's murder last year, says Reuters. News reports also say that Blake, who has been held in jail without bail since his arrest on April 18, again will ask Judge Nash to release him on bail. Blake's wife, Bonnie Lee Bakley, 44, was fatally shot as she sat in Blake's 1991 Dodge Stealth behind a Studio City, Calif., restaurant where the couple had just had dinner. Blake and Caldwell stand charged with conspiracy to commit murder in Bakley's death. Blake also faces two counts of solicitation of murder and a special allegation that could result in a life term. So far, Blake has put up $1 million in cash and an undisclosed amount of legal fees for Caldwell, 46, who is represented by Los Angeles attorney Arna Zlotnick. L.A. deputy district attorneys Patrick Dixon and Gregory Dohi have requested that Judge Nash discharge Zlotnick from the case, contending that she has a conflict of interest as a result of a financial relationship with Blake. The D.A.'s office also wants to remove William Jordan, a defense private investigator, from the case. Jordan, formerly a Los Angeles Police Department lieutenant, also was once on Blake's payroll, reportedly investigating Bakley for a potential child custody battle over the couple's daughter, Rose, 2.