Local News in Brief : Suspect in Taco Bell Slayings Gets Trial Date
A 22-year-old Pacoima man was ordered Tuesday to stand trial later this month on murder, robbery and burglary charges in the 1983 execution-style slayings of two Taco Bell employees in Burbank.
Eddie Raymond Salazar is charged with two counts of murder, two counts of robbery and one count of burglary. Judge Marion E. Gubler, after a two-day preliminary hearing in Burbank Municipal Court, set a Jan. 30 trial date in Pasadena Superior Court.
Salazar, described by authorities as a Sun Valley gang member, was allegedly an accomplice of William Kirkpatrick Jr., a transient who was sentenced to death last summer for his role in the September, 1983, murder and robbery at the fast-food restaurant.
Kirpatrick, a former Taco Bell employee, was convicted of killing James Falconio, 16, a student at Burroughs High School, and Lindell W. Hunter, 27, of North Hollywood.
Deputy Dist. Atty. Loren Naiman said Salazar faces a maximum sentence of 35 years to life if convicted.
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