Two other suspects in the October 31 stabbing, Yvette Stewart and Bridget Black, pleaded not guilty at their February arraignment. Eugene "Sultan" Harrison, a suspect in the murder case of University biochemist Vladimir Sled, pleaded not guilty yesterday to charges including first-degree murder, robbery and theft. Assistant District Attorney Dick Carroll -- who is prosecuting the case -- said the arraignment went as expected. "We handed over copies of the bills of indictment, we told [Harrison] what he was charged with and he was asked to enter a plea," Carroll explained. Bridget Black and Yvette Stewart, the other two suspects in the Halloween night stabbing, pleaded not guilty at their joint arraignment in February. Black allegedly stabbed Sled to death on the 4300 block of Larchwood Avenue as the biochemist was walking home from work with his fiancee, University researcher Cecelia Hagerhall. Sled was killed as he attempted to stop the assailants from snatching Hagerhall's purse. After the crime, Black and Harrison allegedly fled to a getaway vehicle driven by Stewart. Harrison was caught after bank surveillance cameras took photos of him as he tried to use Hagerhall's stolen Money Access Card the night of the murder. In a statement given to Philadelphia Police November 20, Harrison said he "knew it was over for [himself]" when he saw his photo in a newspaper. Harrison had apologized for his role in the killing at a preliminary hearing February 26. Carroll added that it is rumored that Black --Ewhose original plea of not guilty is not binding -- may change her plea to guilty in hopes of receiving a lighter sentence. Suspects retain the option of changing their pleas any time before the start of their trial. Harrison was allegedly involved in two other crimes the week of Sled's murder. In the first incident, Stewart and Harrison allegedly mugged a Philadelphia Daily News driver at 52nd Street and Girard Avenue at 9:40 a.m. October 31. And a few days earlier, the pair allegedly assaulted a man approximately two blocks away from the scene of the Sled crime. The Sled case now moves to pre-trial conference status. The first conference will take place next Thursday at 9 a.m. in the Criminal Justice Center at 13th and Filbert streets.
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