Suspects in Beach Killing of Transient Face Prison Terms

By Anne La Jeunesse

Friday, July 23--Two men originally charged with murder in the brutal beating death of a Santa Monica transient late last year each pleaded no contest Thursday to a reduced charge of voluntary manslaughter.

Robert Barkman, 26 and Mark Anthony Roberts, 35, each also pleaded no contest to a charge of robbery, according to a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office.

The pleas came toward the end of a preliminary hearing that lasted nearly a week, said court officials.

Barkman will be sentenced to 12 years in state prison and Roberts to 11, according to court information.

The charges stem from the Nov. 1, 1999 death of 45-year-old Richard Wayne Bingle, whose battered body, clad only in a shirt, was found face down in the sand about 4:20 a.m. by another transient who had just awakened on the beach north of Ocean Park Boulevard, according to police.

According to Lt. Gary F. Gallinot, the three men were acquainted.

In addition to being beaten and kicked to death, Bingle was sexually assaulted, authorities said.

It is believed that Bingle, originally from Colorado, was killed during an argument over money.

"They beat him and then dragged his body onto the sand," Gallinot said shortly after the arrests. "They buried his head in the sand and took is wallet."

Bingle was part of a loose community of homeless people who occasionally sleep on the city's beaches, Gallinot said.

Two Held in Death of Homeless Man