Transients Sentenced in Beach Killing

By Anne La Jeunesse

Two men convicted in the brutal beating death of a fellow transient, whose body was found partially nude and lying face down in the sands of Santa Monica beach last fall, were sentenced Wednesday to state prison terms.

Robert Barkman, 26, and Mark Anthony Roberts, 35, who were originally charged with murder in the Nov. 1, 1998 death of 45-year-old Richard Wayne Bingle, pleaded no contest last month to reduced charges of voluntary manslaughter in a plea bargain.

Barkman was sentenced Wednesday to 12 years in state prison -- 11 years for the voluntary manslaughter conviction and a year for a robbery conviction, to which he also pleaded no contest. His terms will run consecutively for a total of 12 years.

His co-defendant, Roberts, 35, was sentenced to a total of 11 years in state prison, his sentence for voluntary manslaughter and robbery to run concurrently.

The convictions and sentences stem from the late 1998 seaside beating death of Richard Wayne Bingle, 45, originally believed to be from Colorado. Authorities said that Bingle had been beaten and kicked to death and sexually assaulted.

Bingle's badly battered body, clad only in a shirt, was found lying in the sand on the beach just north of Ocean Park Boulevard about 4:20 a.m. by another transient who had just awakened, police said.

"They beat him and then dragged his body onto the sand," said Lt. Gary F. Gallinot of the Santa Monica Police Department.

Bingle died, according to authorities, after being killed in an apparent fight over money.