Police Make a Second Search of Blake Home

Acting on new information, Los Angeles police detectives Wednesday night again searched the Studio City home of actor Robert Blake, whose wife was fatally shot Friday.

The second search warrant was issued after a police interview Tuesday, said department spokesman Lt. Horace Frank, declining to elaborate.

Police officials said the search was part of their ongoing investigation and there was no arrest warrant. Blake was not at the house at 9:30 p.m. when 16 officers arrived.

As the search went on, helicopters circled noisily above and about 50 people crowded outside Blake’s home--an odd collection of the actor’s neighbors, police and news crews.

“We welcome the effort of the Police Department in trying to solve the case; we hope they will look into all the evidence available,” said Barry Felsen, Blake’s longtime civil attorney.

Defense attorney Harland W. Braun, who is also representing Blake, was at the Dilling Street home during the search. He said he didn’t know what officers were looking for Wednesday night.

Blake’s wife, Bonny Lee Bakley, 44, was found fatally shot in the couple’s car about 10 p.m. Friday. The vehicle was parked about a block from Vitello’s, a Studio City restaurant where the couple had dined that night.

Blake told police he found his wife mortally wounded shortly after he left her in their parked car while he retrieved his handgun from the restaurant.

Blake, who is licensed to carry a weapon, told police he was carrying the gun because his wife feared for her safety.

Earlier on Wednesday, police said they had not identified any suspects in the shooting death of Bakley.

“There’s been much talk about who is and who is not a suspect,” said Capt. Jim Tatreau, head of the Los Angeles Police Department’s Robbery-Homicide Division, at an afternoon news conference. “We have not ruled out anyone as a suspect in this case.”

Police have said the 67-year-old Blake has only been questioned as a witness, but his lawyer has said the investigation has overemphasized the actor as a possible suspect.

Braun said police had overlooked important evidence--scores of documents belonging to Bakley--when they searched Blake’s property last weekend. The documents could help police find the killer, Braun said.

Braun said Tatreau sent him a letter Wednesday asking that he turn over three steamer trunks and six suitcases, all apparently belonging to Bakley. Police believe the items may contain information pertaining to the case. Braun said he would deliver the suitcases and trunks today at noon.

Braun has said letters and other records inside the trunks reveal a scheme to solicit money from lonely men by placing ads in adult magazines and corresponding with the men. Some were persuaded to send Bakley cash and bus and airline tickets through the mail, he said.

Blake, perhaps best known for his role as a detective in the 1970s television series “Baretta,” married Bakley last fall after DNA tests confirmed that he was the father of her infant daughter. They lived in separate homes on Blake’s property.

Police confiscated personal belongings from Blake’s property Saturday, including two handguns, bullets and various papers with Bakley’s name on them.

Tatreau said police seized Blake’s weapon and performed a gunpowder residue test, which could show whether the actor fired a weapon Friday night. He said police are awaiting residue test results from a crime lab.

After the slaying, Blake’s lawyers questioned whether Bakley’s lifestyle and criminal activity could have resulted in enemies who may have wanted her dead.

Braun said homicide detectives plan to interview Blake’s bodyguard today. The bodyguard may provide information about the couple’s relationship and about a mysterious man Braun says was seen outside Blake’s home several times in recent months.

Police declined to confirm whether an interview of the bodyguard is scheduled.

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Times staff writers Richard Fausset and Andrew Blankstein contributed to this story.