Detective Defends Blake Inquiry

Wrapping up a third day of testimony, the lead police investigator in the Robert Blake murder case insisted that the Los Angeles Police Department investigation of the actor was professional and unbiased.

Det. Ronald Y. Ito testified that police focused on Blake in the early stages of the case but also pursued other leads and suspects.

To make the point, Deputy Dist. Atty. Shellie Samuels asked the detective about two months that police spent pursuing a tip -- fruitlessly -- about a prostitute who supposedly had been at the crime scene when Blake’s wife, Bonny Lee Bakley, was killed.

Blake, 71, allegedly solicited two stuntmen to kill Bakley. When they refused, police say, he fatally shot the 44-year-old after the couple ate at a Studio City restaurant May 4, 2001.

Prosecutors allege that Blake hated Bakley and wanted sole custody of their daughter.

Blake has said he had forgotten his gun in a restaurant booth and was retrieving it when Bakley was shot while sitting in their car.

In his cross-examination, defense attorney M. Gerald Schwartzbach sought to discredit key prosecution witnesses before their testimony, asking why detectives didn’t examine allegations of long-term drug use by the two stuntmen.

Ito said he did not investigate drug use by the stuntmen -- Gary McLarty and Ronald “Duffy” Hambleton -- during or after the time they met with Blake. He also said he did not find evidence of illicit drugs at their homes.

Ito added that the two did not appear to be under the influence of narcotics during a series of police interviews after the killing.