Death sentence out in Denny's shooting

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - Two men accused in the fatal invasion robbery of a Denny's restaurant no longer face a possible federal death sentence if convicted, court records show.

The decision not to seek potential death sentences for Pablo de Leon Ortiz and Marvin Lopez Aguilar actually was made quietly in September but is now cited in the clerk's minutes in the U.S. District Court.

Another defendant, Francisco Melgar Cabrera, has been charged but never captured. All three men are from El Salvador.

Melgar's brother José is charged as an accessory and is in custody.

In June 3009 three gunmen burst into the Denny's at Coors Boulevard and Iliff Road NW with high-powered weapons and shot and killed Stephanie Anderson, 34, as she was cooking.

This case is being handled by the feds because the robbery happened inside a Denny's which does business across the country.

The suspects facing murder charges could now face life in prison.

The trial date is set for April 11 with U.S. District Judge William "Chip" Johnson presiding.