Patty Hearst prosecutor who later became judge dies at 97

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The prosecutor who took newspaper heiress Patricia Hearst to court for shooting up a Southern California sporting goods store in 1974 and then successfully argued for probation and not prison for the kidnap victim-turned terrorist has died.

Retired Municipal Court Judge Samuel Mayerson died Monday at his Palos Verdes home. He was 97.

Family friend Jerry Freisleben Mayerson died of natural causes.

Although arguably best known for the Hearst case, Mayerson prosecuted and later judged hundreds of cases during a career spanning more than 60 years.

The World War II Army Air Corps veteran joined the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office in 1952 after passing the California bar exam.

He was appointed a Los Angeles County judge in 1981 and didn’t fully retire until 2015.