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Actor Robert Blake denied bail

Blake and lawyer
Blake, right, in court Thursday with lawyer Harland Braun.  


LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- A judge denied bail Thursday for Robert Blake -- the actor charged with murdering his wife -- but said he will make a final decision on the matter at a future date.

Blake, 68, the star of the 1970s television series "Baretta," has been in jail since his arrest April 18. He is accused of shooting his wife of six months, Bonny Lee Bakley, 44, in the head as she sat in his car outside a Studio City restaurant last year.

The tussle over Blake's bail centers around language in his murder charge accusing him of "lying in wait."

During Thursday's hearing, Superior Court Judge Lloyd Nash said he would keep an open mind about whether to let stand the lying-in-wait charge, which precludes Blake from getting bail.

Blake lawyer Harland Braun said he would file a writ to the appellate court next week to try to overturn the judge's decision.

"The reason they're denying him bail is because they want to convict him, and it's easier to convict someone who's locked up," Braun told reporters. "That's the only justification."

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Braun said the prosecution has no evidence that Blake was lying in wait.

Bakley's sister expressed satisfaction with the decision to keep the actor behind bars for now.

"I'm just pleased that he's staying where he's at," said Margery Bakley. "I'm just very pleased with Judge Nash."

Braun argued that his client should be released on bail while awaiting trial.

The judge said he will decide August 27 when the preliminary hearing should be held.

Blake, wearing a dark sportcoat during the proceeding, appeared gaunt. His hair, which had been brown in recent appearances, was gray.

Prosecutors say the lying-in-wait charge makes Blake ineligible under California law for bail until after his preliminary hearing, where Nash will decide if there is enough evidence to proceed to a trial. They also argue that he is a flight risk and a danger to the community.

But Braun said prosecutors have not presented sufficient evidence to establish that Blake was lying in wait, and he contended the state statute is unconstitutionally vague.

Braun accused prosecutors of stretching the law solely to keep Blake behind bars, and he said the actor was neither a flight risk nor dangerous.

About the preliminary hearing, Braun had argued that the volume of evidence in the case required a delay of up to six months, and he argued that Blake is entitled to bail in the meantime.

Nash responded that an earlier date would be fair, because much of the 35,000 pages of documents had been provided by the defense, and that only about 1,000 pages of documents remain to be transcribed and handed over.

Prosecutors say they can prove that Blake long planned to set up an ambush of his wife, unsuccessfully trying to find a hit man to kill her before finally deciding to shoot her himself. Blake has denied killing Bakley.

Earle Caldwell, Blake's one-time bodyguard, is charged with conspiracy to commit murder and has been released on $1 million bail, posted by Blake.

-- CNN Correspondent Charles Feldman contributed to this story.



 
 
 
 



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