Killer convicted in 1980 Los Angeles Bob's Big Boy massacre seeks resentencing
One of two men convicted of murdering four people at a Los Angeles Bob's Big Boy restaurant in 1980, forcing the victims into a freezer before shooting them in the back, has requested resentencing in his pursuit of release from prison.
Ricardo Rene Sanders, 79, was sentenced to death for four counts of first-degree murder and several other charges for the armed robbery during the early morning hours of Dec. 14, 1980. Just as the restaurant was closing, around 2 a.m., two customers were being let out the front door when Sanders and his accomplice, Franklin Freeman Jr., shoved their way inside.
A resentencing hearing for Sanders was initially scheduled for Friday but was later postponed until Jan. 22, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office. On Thursday, the DA's office said it does not support the resentencing request by Sanders, who has run out of appeals after a failed attempt in 2017.
"We are objecting to the defense request to resentence to life with the possibility of parole," the DA's office said in a statement.
That conviction would potentially give Sanders a chance at parole after spending more than 40 years behind bars. It's not clear what the grounds are for his request, but he accused prosecutors of various errors at trial — including allowing witnesses to provide false testimony — when he appealed the case in 2017.
The night of the murders, there were two customers and nine employees inside the Bob's Big Boy on La Cienega Boulevard.
After forcing their way in, Sanders demanded the night manager hand over money in the safe, an amount of about $1,300, before he and Freeman took everyone into a freezer. Sanders told the victims, "I want watches, wallets, and jewelry." The manager then gathered possessions into a bucket and handed it to him, according to the federal court ruling rejecting his appeal.
"The robbers ordered everyone to turn around to face the wall and kneel," the court filings state. "The two men then fired their guns into the backs of the group until they ran out of ammunition. Then they closed the freezer door and left."
The victims were left inside the freezer, their bodies piled on top of each other and on the floor.
Four people died, a customer and three employees, with one of the workers, Cesario Luna, dying several months later from complications stemming from a bullet wound to his brain. Luna's son, Ismael Luna, was a busboy there that night and survived the massacre. He testified at Sanders' trial and identified him as one of the killers.
The other three people killed were Dita Agtane, a waitress; David Burrell, a customer; and cashier Ahmad Mushuk.
Another four people were left with serious injuries, including the manager, who lost his right eye after being shot, and a customer who suffered back and spine injuries that left her with an inability to walk periodically.
The three remaining victims all survived unwounded.