Police say Robert Blake - star of the 1970s cop show "Baretta" and one of the gang in "The Little Rascals" -has been arrested, along with his bodyguard in connection with the killing of the actor's wife nearly a year ago. Police plan to pursue charges that could carry the death penalty for the actor if he is convicted. Blake's attorney quotes him as saying: "I've lived almost 70 years. I'm going to fight this." His attorney, Harland Braun, adds that he personally believes "the real killer is still out there." Police Capt. Jim Tatreau was equally certain of his position, speaking at a news conference Thursday night. "Robert Blake shot Bonny Bakley," said Tatreau. "We believe the motive is Robert Blake had contempt for Bonny Bakley. He felt he was trapped in a marriage he wanted no part of." Shortly before 6 p.m. Thursday, Los Angeles police officers swept into Hidden Hills, a gated suburban community where Blake moved after the killing, and took him into custody. Bodyguard and chauffeur Earle Caldwell was arrested earlier in the afternoon. Blake was arrested for investigation of murder and Caldwell was held for conspiracy, said Sgt. John Pasquariello, a Police Department spokesman. Blake was driven downtown and arrived at police headquarters at dusk. Bonny Lee Bakley, 44, was shot to death the night of May 4, 2001, a block from a Studio City restaurant where she and her husband had dined. Blake has said they had dinner at his favorite restaurant, Vitello's, and, after walking his wife to the car he remembered he had left behind a gun he carried to protect her. He went back for it, he said, and when he returned to the car he found his wife shot. Blake's attorney says he was informed by police about 5:30 p.m. that an arrest was imminent and he advised his client "to come outside." Braun says he does not know what evidence police have, but that the question of the motive for Bakley's killing will be the heart of the case. "Everyone who ever came in contact with her had a motive," says Braun. Los Angeles Police Chief Bernard Parks says there is "physical and significant circumstantial evidence" to prove the case. "All other possible suspects were investigated and have been eliminated," said Parks. The nearly year-long investigation covered more than 900 items of evidence, more than 150 witnesses, 150 clues from the public, and travel all over the country. "No other case in the department history has required such extensive travel," says Parks. Arraignment is expected to be on Monday in Van Nuys Superior Court. Cary W. Goldstein, attorney for Bakley's family, says they are pleased by the arrest. But he warns against any attempt by Blake's lawyer to raise questions about her behavior. "I think it's going to backlash in his face," says Goldstein. "I think people are going to find out who Bonny was and maybe they'll find out a little more about her family, but as I've said from the very beginning, there's nothing that Bonny ever did in her lifetime that justifies her having been murdered. Her wrongdoings were picayune, at best. These were not crimes that motivate people to murder her. Those are all baseless diversions." Hidden Hills resident Susan Sanett was at a loss as to what to think of the arrest. "I don't know whether he did it or not," said Sanett. "He was always very pleasant. I'm a hiker myself, so I saw him every day walking around." The case thrust Blake back into the limelight after years of semiretirement. A former child star, he had his greatest success in the 1970s TV series, "Baretta," in which he played a tough-talking cop. He received accolades for his performance as a killer who goes to the gallows in 1967's "In Cold Blood," and he won a 1975 Emmy for "Baretta," but his career had been stalled for years. As details of the couple's lifestyle emerged, the story became even more bizarre. Theirs was hardly a traditional marriage. They met at a nightclub and began seeing each other and having sex. When Bakley became pregnant, she said she was unsure if the child was fathered by Blake or Christian Brando, son of actor Marlon Brando. But DNA tests eventually showed the little girl was Blake's daughter and his lawyer said the actor felt he had to marry her. For the wedding, the bride had to get permission from a judge to be released from electronic monitoring in her home state of Arkansas where she was under house arrest for possessing fake identifications. After the marriage, she left the baby, Rose Lenore Sophie Blake, in the actor's custody. The pair had signed a temporary custody agreement. Later, she moved into a cottage behind Blake's home and Blake hired a nanny for the baby. Blake's lawyer, who was hired shortly after the killing, investigated the woman's past and quickly came up with the theory that there were many men who might have wanted her dead. Her shady past became an open book. Stacks of letters, pornographic pictures and meticulously detailed records showed that Bakley, using many aliases, ran a business soliciting money from lonely men who answered her ads in magazines and newspapers. The men sought companionship, marriage, and, in many cases, nude photos and pornography. She told them she needed money and they sent it. Braun says his investigation into Bakley's business uncovered a far-flung network of men she wrote to under various names. Most of the letters came from the United States, but she also listed contacts in Budapest, Hungary; India; Pakistan; and Canada. --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.350 / Virus Database: 196 - Release Date: 17/04/02