Charles Heard Sentenced in 'Bamm-Bamm Bling' Murder Case

Courtesy SFPD

The Bamm-Bamm pendant

​Convicted murderer Charles Heard received 25 years to life in prison for killing Richard Barrett in 2008 -- a crime that prosecutors say was done as he attempted to steal Barrett's pendant of cave-baby Bamm-Bamm from The Flintstones.

Heard was sentenced yesterday by Judge Jerome Benson, according to the San Francisco Appeal. He was convicted in July 2010, but his sentencing was delayed while defense attorney Eric Safire argued that Heard deserved a new trial based on mistaken instructions Benson delivered to the original jury.

Benson denied the motion for a new trial last month.

Heard's trial was unusual for many reasons.

As we reported in a cover story last July, it was the first time face-recognition "biometrics" technology -- commonly used to identify terrorists in public places -- was used in a San Francisco criminal courtroom.

Jury deliberations in the trial were equally unusual.

The jury decided that Heard has used a firearm to kill Barrett, which contradicted the prosecution's theory that Heard was the shooter. At the same time, it also declared him guilty based on the supposition that he had participated in the attempted robbery that led to the killing.


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