2 Held in Blake Case Burglary
Los Angeles police have recovered a computer belonging to actor Robert Blake’s attorney and are holding two men in the burglary, the judge in Blake’s murder case said Tuesday.
The suspects -- Koi Burton, 18, and Michael Washington, 19, both of Los Angeles -- were arrested Monday.
Police said the pair confessed to the break-in at M. Gerald Schwartzbach’s apartment in Sherman Oaks on Dec. 2. The crime delayed opening statements for two weeks. They are now set for Monday.
Detectives reportedly found one of the suspects’ fingerprints at another apartment where the door was forced open. When confronted by police, Burton admitted his involvement and named his accomplice, authorities said. The men led detectives to the Van Nuys pawnshop where the stolen items were hocked.
Attorney James E. Blatt, the court-appointed special master, accompanied detectives to ensure police did not tamper with confidential defense materials.
Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Darlene E. Schempp had allowed police to dust for fingerprints but not to access the computer’s data until Blatt was present.
After court, Schwartzbach said he was confident police “will determine that neither myself, Mr. Blake nor anyone with the defense team was in any way remotely connected to any of this.”
Blake, 71, faces life in prison if convicted of the May 2001 killing of his wife, Bonny Lee Bakley, 44. He is free on a $1.5-million bond.
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