Witness Says Blake Tried to Have His Wife Jailed

Before Robert Blake’s wife was gunned down, he tried to get her jailed to keep her away from their infant daughter, a witness testified at the actor’s murder trial Friday in Van Nuys.

Luis Mendoza said Blake asked him to contact federal authorities to report that his wife, Bonny Lee Bakley, had violated probation for a fraud conviction in Arkansas.

When Mendoza failed, he said Blake quoted his grandfather’s advice: “If you delegate things to people and they don’t do them, you might as well do them yourself,” Mendoza testified.

Bakley, 44, was killed as she sat in the actor’s car the night of May 4, 2001, after they had dined at a Studio City restaurant.

Prosecutors maintain that Blake’s hatred for Bakley -- and his obsession with keeping her away from their daughter -- led him to try to hire two Hollywood stuntmen to kill her. When they refused, prosecutors allege, Blake pulled the trigger.

Bakley’s probation officer also testified as prosecutors tried to show how the actor attempted to keep his wife away on parole violations before allegedly killing her.

“Blake failed to eliminate her from his life legally,” Bakley family attorney Eric Dubin said.