Posted on 04/22/2002 9:22:16 AM PDT by sonserae
The gun that Los Angeles cops say was used to kill Robert Blake's wife has been traced back to the actor, police sources have told the Daily News.
The serial number on the murder weapon, a .38-caliber Walther PPK handgun, had been filed off. But using techniques straight out of the CBS show "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," forensic sleuths were able to read the number and trace the gun to Blake, the sources said.
The star of the 1970s detective show "Baretta" is scheduled to be arraigned tomorrow in a Van Nuys, Calif., courthouse. His bodyguard, Earle Caldwell, also is scheduled to be arraigned then, officials said.
Police have charged Blake with one count of murder with special circumstances, which could carry the death penalty, and two counts of soliciting murder. Prosecutors do not have to accept those charges at arraignment but usually do.
Los Angeles Police Capt. Jim Tatreau confirmed Thursday the Walther was believed to be the murder weapon.
The gun was found in a Dumpster a block and a half from where Bonny Lee Bakley was shot dead last year in Studio City, investigators said.
Big Wild Card
There are several ways for forensic scientists to restore a filed serial number. The most common is to use an acid solution to reveal sections of the metal that were compressed when the number was stamped.
The Walther is just one piece of evidence the cops apparently have against Blake. They say they also have statements from two people he allegedly solicited to murder Bakley.
The big wild card in the state's case could be Blake's accused accomplice, Caldwell, who was arrested on charges of conspiracy to commit murder.
Blake's high-profile lawyer, Harland Braun, already has accused investigators of trying to squeeze Caldwell by offering to drop charges if he cooperates.
Although the LAPD has denied that, Caldwell, 45, is being held on $1 million bail at the police department's own detention center instead of the county jail.
Blake, on the other hand, was transferred to the Men's Central Jail - the same facility that once held O.J. Simpson - shortly after he was booked Thursday.
He was locked in an isolation cell to keep him away from other inmates who might want to harm him.
Braun said he will seek $1 million bail for his famous client, who has no criminal record and has not tried to flee during the nearly year-long investigation.
Police have declined to release the results of gunpowder residue tests that were conducted on Blake's hands and clothing or his four-hour interview with detectives. They said they would ask a judge to seal all documents in the case to protect the integrity of the investigation.
The Los Angeles district attorney's office has tapped one of its big guns, Patrick Dixon, deputy chief of the Major Crimes Unit, to be the lead prosecutor on the Blake case.
Prosecutors also are reviewing thousands of documents and other evidence taken from the homes of Blake and Caldwell.
Caldwell - arrested Thursday along with Blake - allegedly told Blake's lawyer last year that he took care of the actor's gun collection, and that Blake didn't own a Walther PPK.
Bakley was shot in the head on the night of May 4 as she sat in a parked car a block from Vitello's restaurant, where she had just dined with Blake.
Blake has said he returned to the Italian restaurant to retrieve a gun he left behind and which he used to protect himself and his wife. He told cops that when he returned to his car, he found his wife shot.
Tatreau said Blake, 68, shot and killed Bakley because he felt trapped in his marriage and had contempt for her.
DNA Tests
Blake married Bakley after she gave birth to a child she initially said was fathered either by Blake or by Christian Brando, actor Marlon Brando's son. DNA tests showed Blake was the father.
Burbank detectives hauled boxes, a shotgun and two gun cases out of the bodyguard's second-floor apartment, and Police Cmdr. Gary Brennan said a third location was searched, but he refused to identify it.
Braun insists his client is innocent and said Bakley's "real killer" may be a man who was humiliated and left furious by one of the 44-year-old New Jersey woman's lonely hearts schemes.
Soon after the killing, Braun sought to show there could be many suspects other than Blake. He noted Bakley ran a mail-order business in which she allegedly conned lonely men out of money, promising sex and pornographic pictures.
Police have been tight-lipped about the evidence against Blake and Caldwell, refusing to say if the bodyguard had spoken to detectives.
The viewer may also axe, how could the Real Killers pass Blake twice on the way to and from the restaurant? The answer is amazingly simple and O.J. Simpsons recent history of searching golf courses for the Real Killers provides a clue. While Blake was walking, and a 68 year old male can't walk very fast in the LA smog, the Real Killers rode a golf cart.
"This is what James Bond carries. Robert Blake must see himself as a cross between Baretta and James Bond."
I know nobody likes a pedant, but it's actually ".380," or 9mm Kurz(short)
In modern usage, unless otherwise specified, .38 is used to refer to the .38 Special revolver cartrdige.
sorry, sorry, sorry...nobody likes a nitpicker...
Blake has said he returned to the Italian restaurant to retrieve a gun he left behind and which he used to protect himself and his wife. He told cops that when he returned to his car, he found his wife shot.
Help me with this one, because the moronic media doesn't seem to be asking this question, at least I don't think so, so maybe you can answer this:
If Blake said he went back to the restaurant to get his gun, where is it? Did he present it to the police? Was it tested? Is it just a deranged story?
Axe = Axsk???
You might find this link interesting. It is Blakes app for conceal and carry permit. It list three weapons he is permitted to carry.
Yes, of course. Thanks for axsking (I don't resemble your remark like some would.) In the meantime, I checked my Dictionary of Difficult Words to verify - no wonder most people spell it phonetically, "axe"!
Had no idea such a thing existed. I was just having a bit of fun "correcting" you on something stupid like axe! You will never have to worry about me seriously correcting spelling here. That drives me nuts.
I am forwarding your findings to Harland Braun, the feckless defense attorney for Barretta. As a reward for your startling apercu, I am also earmarking two tickets for my planned Short Guys Film Festival to be held at the Elks Lodge in Livermore Falls. We will review the films of Alan Ladd, William Conrad, and Robert Blake, and any other star shorter than Dustin Hoffman.
It will take place shortly.
Tell us everything you know, Shermy. Enquiring minds want to know. Any facts you turn up could be crucial to Revolting Cat's continuing investigation of this bizarre crime, which dwarfs 9/11, The Intifada, and Major League Baseball, and could seriously impact on my planning of the long-awaited Short Guys Film Festival.
It does exist (although it doesn't contain "ask" or axe". That can be found in the Ebonics Dictionary of Difficult Words) I picked it up at Borders for a buck. 292 pages, soft cover, full title "QPB Dictionary of Difficult Words", originally published in 1994 in the UK under the title "The Hutchison Dictionary of Difficult Words" by Helicon Publishing Ltd.
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