Paul D’Emilia, Blake’s defense attorney, argued in court that his client had only been trying to help Reynolds, who he claimed “probably has some kind of drug or mental health issues.”
“There are facts that are divergent from what we believe happened,” D’Emilia told the judge.
“My client is disabled,” he continued. “[Reynolds], in fact, wrestled the cane away from him and started hitting him with the cane initially … there’s two sides to this, but we can deal with that later.”
He asked the court to release Blake ahead of his trial because he suffers from anxiety and depression and is not getting the treatment he needs.
Justice Laura Ward said she would consider putting Blake on electronically monitored home arrest — but not until she reads through the grand jury’s notes.