Blake Pays Bodyguard’s Bail

Actor Robert Blake posted $1 million in cash to bail his bodyguard out of county jail Friday afternoon, eight days after both men were arrested in the killing of Blake’s wife.

Earle Caldwell, 46, of Burbank was released from the Twin Towers Correctional Facility in downtown Los Angeles. Blake, 68, is being held in the Men’s Central Jail without bail.

Both men pleaded not guilty Monday in the May 4, 2001, fatal shooting of Bonny Lee Bakley near a Studio City restaurant.

Attorney Harland W. Braun, who represents Blake, said the actor believed he should help Caldwell, both as his employer and friend. Blake is also paying Caldwell’s legal bills, Braun said.

Caldwell “is falsely accused of a crime arising out of his employment,” Braun said. “He would not have been charged with a crime if he didn’t work for Robert.”

Caldwell is charged with conspiring to kill Bakley.

Blake, best known as the streetwise detective in the 1970s “Baretta” television series, is charged with murder, soliciting murder and conspiracy.

Braun said he will ask a judge next week to set bail for Blake.

On Thursday, prosecutors announced they will not seek the death penalty for Blake. He still faces life in prison without parole if convicted.

Caldwell’s attorney, Arna H. Zlotnik, said his client is relieved and grateful to be out of jail.

“This week has been very difficult for Mr. Caldwell,” Zlotnik said. “He has no prior criminal record or no prior criminal contact. It’s been very traumatic.”

Zlotnik and Braun said Blake has an obligation under the state’s labor laws to pay legal defense costs for Caldwell, his employee.

But the law may not apply to criminal cases and may create a perception problem, criminal defense attorney Leonard Sharenow said.

“It doesn’t look good from a jury point of view that one defendant is paying the expenses of another defendant,” Sharenow said. “It’s a control issue.”

According to the criminal complaint, Caldwell provided Blake with a small-caliber gun in a zippered case. Blake then allegedly offered the gun to men whom he had asked to kill Bakley. Blake also prepared a list of items, including shovels, crowbars and swimming pool acid, for use in Bakley’s killing, according to the complaint.

Prosecutors say Blake shot Bakley, 44, while she sat in the couple’s car near Vitello’s restaurant, where they had just dined.

Authorities contend Blake was contemptuous of Bakley, who forced the actor into marriage after a paternity test confirmed he had fathered her child.

Braun said prosecutors also will try to prove that Blake had tried to hire two stuntmen who worked on “Baretta” to kill Bakley.

After Blake’s arrest last week at his daughter’s Hidden Hills home, the actor, during the ride to police headquarters, told detectives, “I’ve been waiting one year for this,” according to the arrest report.