Blake Is Denied Hearing for Bail

A state appeals court on Tuesday denied actor Robert Blake’s request that a bail hearing be ordered and his murder charge reduced.

Blake, 68, has been held without bail in Men’s Central Jail in downtown Los Angeles since his April 18 arrest in the slaying of his wife, Bonny Lee Bakley. She was fatally shot in Blake’s car near a Studio City restaurant in May 2001.

Defense attorneys Paul L. Hoffman and Harland W. Braun had asked the 2nd District Court of Appeal to order the trial judge to conduct a bail hearing for Blake.

Last month, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Lloyd M. Nash ruled that he would set a bail hearing for Blake after a preliminary hearing is held later this year.

Blake, who starred in the 1970s television series “Baretta,” has pleaded not guilty to murder, two counts of soliciting murder and conspiracy with the special-circumstance allegation of lying in wait. He faces life in prison without parole, if convicted.

His attorneys also asked the justices to direct Nash to dismiss the lying-in-wait allegation by declaring it unconstitutional.

Braun said Tuesday he will ask the state Supreme Court to review the appellate court’s decision.

Defense attorneys accused prosecutors of charging Blake with the special-circumstance allegation for the sole purpose of keeping him in custody until trial. They argued that bail should be set, because Blake is not a flight risk.

Meanwhile, Braun said the actor’s lengthy pretrial incarceration leaves the public with the impression that the justice system is treating his client unfairly. Blake’s co-defendant, Earle Caldwell, was released from jail eight days after their arrest, when Blake posted his $1 million bail. Caldwell pleaded not guilty to conspiracy.

“We felt this was an issue that Judge Nash made a proper ruling on,” said Los Angeles County district attorney’s office spokeswoman Sandi Gibbons.

Because Blake is facing serious charges, “there is always a possibility that ... bail is not going to hold him in this country,” she said.