One of two men convicted and sentenced to death for an infamous 1980 takeover robbery and massacre inside a Los Angeles Bob’s Big Boy restaurant, in which employees and customers were herded into a freezer and shot in the back, has begun legal efforts to have his prison sentence reduced, which could allow the once-condemned prisoner to be released on parole.
Ricardo Rene Sanders, 79, is pursuing resentencing, according to LA Superior Court records, under recent state laws that allow judges to reconsider prison terms for a variety of reasons.
“I can’t believe that the legislature ever intended a result like this,” said Harvey Giss, the now-retired prosecutor who tried the case against Sanders and two co-defendants in 1981 and 1982.
The resentencing effort and a series of hearings that took place earlier this year are listed on the court docket, but there are few documents filed that offer insight into Sanders’ rationale for requesting the reduction or opposition or support from prosecutors.
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Sanders’ assigned defense attorney, a federal public defender, has not filed a resentencing motion that’s visible in the public court file and didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
The LA County District Attorney’s Office, however, said in an email Wednesday that the office would oppose Sanders’ efforts.
“We are objecting to the defense request to resentence to life with the possibility of parole,” the DA’s statement said.
If Sanders’ sentence was reduced to life with parole, he would likely be eligible for an immediate parole hearing due to his age, officials said.
The freezer murders took place on Dec. 14, 1980 at the Bob’s Big Boy restaurant on La Cienega Boulevard, a location that no longer exists.
At around 2:00 a.m., two men armed with shotguns and at least one handgun forced their way inside, saying, “it’s a jack - it’s a stickup,” according to court records.
The men ordered two customers and nine employees into a storage freezer, and after robbing them of cash, watches and jewelry, they told the group to turn and face the wall and kneel.
“The two men then fired their guns into the back of the group until they ran out of ammunition. Then they closed the freezer door and left,” an appeals court summary of the events said and noted the men escaped with about $1,300 from the restaurant safe.
One customer and two employees were killed at the scene, David Burrell, Dita Agtani and Ahmad Mushuk.
Another employee, Cesario Luna, died months later from a bullet wound to his brain. Luna’s son, Ismael, also worked at the restaurant as a bus boy and saw his father get shot.
Four others survived shotgun and gunshot wounds, some with debilitating injuries, and the remaining two were physically unharmed.
The LAPD arrested Sanders, Franklin Freeman, Jr. and Carletha Stewart about a week after the robbery after detectives said they were identified by survivors of the shooting and other witnesses, something Sanders’ defense has unsuccessfully challenged in a number of appeals.
Sanders was convicted of four murders with special circumstances and was sentenced to death.
Freeman was convicted and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for his role in the murders.
Stewart, who police said took part in planning the robbery, pleaded guilty to murder charges and was sentenced to life in prison.
A resentencing hearing was scheduled for Friday at the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center in downtown LA. But it was postponed late Wednesday by the court and will now be heard on Jan. 22, 2024.
