The murder case of actor Robert Blake was thrown into disarray Thursday when the judge relieved the actor’s defense attorney because of “irreconcilable differences” with his client.
The action forced an indefinite postponement of Blake’s trial, which had been scheduled to enter the final phase of jury selection Feb. 17.
“I’m sorry,” Superior Court Judge Darlene Schempp said after stunning the courtroom with her announcement. “I just did not have a choice in the matter.”
Schempp set a hearing for Feb. 23, by which time she said she hoped Blake would find a replacement for Thomas Mesereau Jr.
As they left court, neither Blake nor Mesereau would discuss the nature of the dispute that ended their relationship after about 14 months.
Blake, 70, is charged with fatally shooting his wife, Bonny Lee Bakley, 44, as she sat in a car outside an Italian restaurant where the two had just eaten dinner in 2001. Blake is best known for starring in the 1970s TV cop show “Baretta.”
