Robber gets 7 to 14 for role in Sled killing

Eugene Harrison started the robberty which led to Vladimir Sled's murder. Following a contentious debate about the semantics of the jury's verdict, a judge sentenced Eugene "Sultan" Harrison to seven to 14 years in jail for his role in the 1996 slaying of University biochemist Vladimir Sled and the robbery of a truck driver the same day. Harrison, 34, one of three people charged with the murder, was convicted in May of two counts of robbery and one count of conspiracy to commit robbery. He was acquitted of all charges directly stemming from the stabbing death of Sled, including murder. Bridgette Black, 27, who pleaded guilty to actually stabbing Sled, was sentenced in July to five to 12 years in prison. Yvette Stewart, 31, was convicted in May of third-degree murder and two robbery charges. She was sentenced last week to 15 to 30 years in jail. The 38-year-old Sled and his fiancee, former University researcher Cecilia Hagerhall, were walking along the 4300 block of Larchwood Avenue late Halloween night when Harrison approached them and tried to take Hagerhall's purse. Sled struggled with him, and Black emerged from the getaway car and stabbed him to death. She has maintained that she meant only to "scare" him, and that she emerged from the car only when she saw that Stewart had a gun, which she later allegedly fired into the air. The sentencing followed a spirited debate between Assistant District Attorney Mark Gilson and defense attorney Tariq El-Shabazz about whether Harrison's conviction was for first-degree robbery -- which requires "serious bodily harm" to have been done during the commission of the robbery -- or third-degree robbery, which simply requires "force, however slight," according to state law. The verdict sheet signed by the jury in May stated only that it found Harrison guilty of general robbery for attempting to snatch the purse belonging to Hagerhall. The written transcript of the trial never clearly states which degree of robbery the judge charged the jury with finding. The issue was complicated by the August death of trial judge Eugene Clarke Jr. Common Pleas Judge James Lineberger eventually settled on second-degree robbery after hearing from Dick Carroll, who led the case's prosecution until resigning from the D.A.'s office over the summer to work in private practice. The debate was at times acrimonious. El-Shabazz erupted at one point, calling Gilson's arguments "ridiculous" and saying he was offended that the court would not accept his account of his discussions with Carroll and Clarke. El-Shabazz said Carroll had agreed to only seek a third-degree conviction. Carroll denied to Lineberger making such a statement. After the hearing, El-Shabazz said he would appeal the judge's opinion that the robbery was second-degree. Following that pre-sentencing argument, El-Shabazz urged Lineberger not to consider the Russian-born researcher's death in the sentencing because the jury absolved Harrison of any responsibility for it. But Gilson disputed that claim. "But for [Harrison] alone, Vladimir Sled would still be alive," he said, noting that it was Harrison who instigated the robbery which led to the stabbing. Harrison's parents both spoke briefly, apologizing for their son's actions and asking the judge to show mercy. Harrison himself told the court that he was remorseful and did not mean to hurt anyone. Gilson read from a mental evaluation of Harrison, which said his "motivation for change appears to be non-existent," and that he has shown "very little concern or remorse" for the murder. The nearly two years Harrison has already served since his November 1996 arrest will count toward his new sentence. Also yesterday, Lee Mandell, Stewart's attorney, filed a motion requesting Lineberger to reconsider Stewart's sentence, citing the "great disparity" between Stewart's punishment and Black's. Lineberger will consider the motion at a hearing tomorrow afternoon. The three defendants' sentences are vastly different from what prosecutors initially said they expected out of trial proceedings. Carroll told The Daily Pennsylvanian in January 1997 that he intended to pursue the death penalty for all three suspects and that the evidence clearly supported such a punishment. Under state law, a murder committed during the commission of another felony is automatically second-degree murder, even if the defendant is not the actual killer. Juries, though, are not required to follow that rule. Gilson said after the hearing that while he can't fault Lineberger for the sentences, the verdicts were "a complete miscarriage of justice." "No one is being held responsible for the murder of Vladimir Sled," he said. And Sergei Vinogradov, who was one of three former colleagues of Sled's who attended yesterday's hearing, called all three sentences "outrageous," asking how "you can kill someone and get five years in prison."

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