Los Angeles ? One of the lead detectives in the Robert Blake murder investigation acknowledged Friday that he brought an author to the scene of the crime, allowed him to view evidence and shared insights into the case with him.

But Detective Ron Ito said he wasn’t courting writer Miles Corwin to make sure a book being written about the case would feature Ito as the hero. He said former Police Chief Bernard Parks gave Corwin access to the robbery-homicide division for the book.

The detective testified on the third day of a preliminary hearing that will determine whether Blake, star of the 1970s TV show “Baretta,” will stand trial on charges of murdering wife Bonny Lee Bakley on May 4, 2001, and whether Blake’s handyman-bodyguard Earle Caldwell will be tried for conspiracy.

Later Friday, a veteran stuntman said Blake approached him about having Bakley “snuffed,” the third such witness to describe conversations in which the actor allegedly solicited the murder of his wife.

Bakley, 44, the mother of Blake’s young daughter Rose, was shot in a car near a restaurant after dinner with Blake.