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Judge tosses out conspiracy charges against Robert Blake

Unrelated shooting outside courthouse wounds attorney

A gunman is pictured Friday outside the courthouse where a hearing for Robert Blake was being held.
A gunman is pictured Friday outside the courthouse where a hearing for Robert Blake was being held.

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VAN NUYS, California (CNN) -- A judge threw out conspiracy charges against Robert Blake on Friday, but rejected defense attorneys' bid to have murder charges against the actor dropped.

The judge also dropped conspiracy charges against Blake friend and handyman, Earle Caldwell.

Prosecutors have 15 days to decide whether to refile the conspiracy charges.

Both Caldwell and his attorney said they were surprised by the decision.

"As much as you walk into a courtroom wanting to be optimistic, we didn't have much thought that we would end up with a dismissal today," Caldwell's attorney, Dana Cole, told CNN. "It does poke a hole in their case, no question about it," he said. "It tells the public that the D.A.'s office sometimes makes mistakes in its charging decisions, and this one was definitely a mistake."

Robert Blake
Robert Blake

Blake, 70, is accused in the shooting of his wife, 44-year-old Bonny Lee Bakley, outside a Studio City restaurant May 4, 2001. Prosecutors contend Blake was angry that Bakley had tricked him into making her pregnant, then trapped him into marrying her.

Outside the courthouse there was a brief moment of chaos when a gunman attacked an attorney leaving the building, in front of a CNN-hired cameraman standing just a few feet away.

There was no indication the shooting had any connection to Blake.

The attorney suffered several wounds to the upper body, and was listed in stable condition at a hospital. The shooter was tackled by security personnel and taken into custody.

Friday's hearing was held in Van Nuys, about 17 miles northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Blake's trial is scheduled to begin February 9.


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