Ramona

A former Vista man was sentenced Wednesday to life in state prison for kidnaping a Ramona liquor store clerk and shooting him five times after wishing him “Merry Christmas.”

Vincent J. Russo, 30, was given the term by San Diego Superior Court Judge Daniel Kremer on Russo’s guilty plea last month to kidnaping for robbery and attempted murder.

Watching the sentencing was Judy Eaton, mother of Dale Eaton, of Ramona, who survived the Dec. 2, 1978, shooting and testified against Russo Feb. 5 in a preliminary hearing.

Russo had been on the FBI’s “10 Most Wanted List” since 1979 when he was arrested in January in Beaver Falls, Pa., where he was living under his girlfriend’s brother’s name, said Deputy Dist. Atty. William Woodward.

Dale Eaton, who was in his early 20s when he worked at Stage Stop Liquors in Ramona, was kidnaped by Russo during a robbery and taken to a remote area between Escondido and Valley Center.

Eaton was shot in the face, neck and arms and had reconstructive surgery on his jaw and face. He has had continuing nightmares, his mother said.

Woodward said Russo will first be eligible for parole in seven years.