10-08) 18:49 PDT SAN FRANCISCO -- Seven suspected gang members arrested in San Francisco for allegedly intimidating a courtroom witness were freed Thursday, as prosecutors said they needed more time to decide whether to file charges.
The men had been held for two days stemming from the incident Tuesday during a preliminary hearing for Charles "Cheese" Heard, 25, accused of murdering Richard Barrett in November 2008.
Barrett, 29, was
killed outside a Broadway club as he ran from a robber attempting to grab his gem-encrusted pendant of the "Flintstones" character Bamm-Bamm.
The seven men stood up with arms folded just as the prosecution's star witness was asked whether she saw the killer in the courtroom.
Heard's attorney, Eric Safire, says he orchestrated the display as a way to ensure the woman's identification was fair. The seven men in the audience, he said, all had gold grills on their teeth, as did Heard.
The men were arrested as they left the courtroom.
Prosecutors offered no specifics Thursday for why they were not filing charges. They said only that the probe remains "open and active" and that they will make a decision once the investigation is complete.
Brian Buckelew, spokesman for District Attorney Kamala Harris, said his office has asked the state attorney general to determine whether there is a conflict of interest if San Francisco prosecutors pursue charges.
Safire welcomed the men's release. He noted that Superior Court Judge Wallace Douglass, who was presiding over the hearing for Heard, said their display had not amounted to witness intimidation.
"There was nothing illegal about what I attempted to do," Safire said.
At the end of the hearing, Douglass ordered Heard tried for murder.
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