Blake Witness’ Credibility Attacked

Robert Blake’s defense lawyer tried Thursday to poke as many holes as he could in the testimony of a retired stuntman who said Blake asked him to kill the actor’s wife.

M. Gerald Schwartzbach targeted several minor inconsistencies in Ronald “Duffy” Hambleton’s account of the alleged solicitation, and implied that Hambleton might have embellished it with details picked out of grocery store tabloids.

Hambleton, 68, was the third prosecution witness in three days to testify in a Van Nuys courtroom that Blake’s relationship with his wife, Bonny Lee Bakley, had soured and that he wanted her dead. Though Blake didn’t always mention her by name, all three said it was clear that Bakley was the intended victim.

Hambleton testified Wednesday that the former “Baretta” star offered him at least eight scenarios for killing Bakley, including three outside of Vitello’s, the Studio City restaurant near which she was fatally shot May 4, 2001.

He said Blake told him: “Well, if you’re not going to do it, then I sure as hell am.”

Blake, 71, has pleaded not guilty to murder and two counts of soliciting murder. He faces life in prison if convicted. He is free on a $1.5-million bond.

On Thursday, Hambleton testified that he heard through the media that police had found a gun in a zippered case at Blake’s house, similar to the one he testified that Blake offered him to kill Bakley, 44.

But he said it did not influence his trial testimony.

Then prosecutor Shellie L. Samuels asked Hambleton directly about the alleged solicitation for murder. “Where did you get the information?” she asked.

“Directly from the defendant,” he responded.

Schwartzbach also questioned whether Blake ever actually used the word “snuff” to describe killing his wife, noting that Hambleton did not use the word in recorded interviews until nearly two years after he began cooperating with police.

Hambleton said he could not recall when he first mentioned “snuff” to police.

Throughout his testimony, Hambleton denied using methamphetamine in 2000 and 2001, and sometimes laughed when confronted with defense allegations that he was paranoid and had hallucinations.

Schwartzbach asked him if he recalled seeing, among other things, a 4-foot-tall animal with horns or people in camouflage hiding outside his house.

He said no.

The trial is scheduled to resume Monday.