Man Pleads Not Guilty in Slayings of 2
A 23-year-old Sylmar man pleaded not guilty Tuesday to the murder of an elderly couple who owned a popular North Hollywood restaurant.
Israel Cebrera Pulido, a day laborer who had helped install a floor for Sabato “Sabby” Russo and his wife, Eugenia, was charged last week with murder with special circumstances of burglary, robbery, avoiding arrest, torture and multiple murders in connection with the deaths of the North Hollywood couple.
The Russos, who were both 73, owned Sabatino’s Italian Restaurant and Bakery, a fixture in North Hollywood for nearly 20 years that was popular with police officers, boxers from a nearby gym and people from the entertainment industry.
On Nov. 22, the Russos were found beaten and stabbed to death in their ransacked North Hollywood home. Authorities believe that Pulido’s motive was robbery.
A search of Pulido’s residence turned up several items from the Russo home, as well as knives believed to have been used in the killings, police said.
The charges Pulido faces make him eligible for the death penalty. Prosecutors would decide whether to seek capital punishment after a preliminary hearing, said Deputy Dist. Atty. Kenneth Barshop.
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