Killer gets 296 years

"Give me 500, give me a thousand, give me a million, too," Scanlan said.

Martel, 34, died Oct. 11, 2002 after Scanlan shot her in the abdomen during an armed robbery of the Wells Fargo branch she managed. She left behind a husband, David, and two young sons.

If David Martel had his way, the former Trader Joe's clerk would still receive death. He pushed for the maximum punishment during Scanlan's trial and a deadlocked jury in June did nothing to sway his opinion.

Martel said he would have "no hesitation to pull the switch" or beat Scanlan to a bloody pulp if he could legally.

Scanlan, sporting cornrows and a rosary, watched Martel as he spoke in front of the empty jury box. The Millbrae man by turns wiped his forehead and crossed his arms during his remarks but remained otherwise composed while facing the man who changed his life forever. Martel, who once gave him grudging respect for pleading guilty and initially asking for the death penalty, offered no sympathy yesterday to the man he referred to simply as "Scanlan."

"A monster like you deserves to die," he said. "You used a gun to get respect ... there's no place on Earth for people like you."

Martel's co-worker Michelle Ryan faxed a statement which was read in court. Only two employees remain at the bank who remember the robbery, and she detailed how it invades her thoughts.

"None of us are the same since that day," she wrote. "I want you to be gone. I want you to be nothing."

A final apology

As Scanlan offered prayers and a final apology to all of his victims, Martel walked out of the courtroom. Scanlan told Foiles "I deserve pain" before adding God wanted him to have a fair trial and not receive a death sentence. Repeatedly, he said the sentence was "justice" and even addressed Alice Martel herself.

"Mrs. Martel, I want you to know that God has avenged you," he said.

Scanlan turned multiple times to address the audience, which included jurors, victims and his own mother.

He ended his speech with "God bless this courthouse" and offering "love, peace and happiness to all of you."

The sentence

Scanlan's confession to a dozen felonies including first-degree murder left little doubt he would receive one of the county's harshest sentences yesterday. However, prosecutors asked for - and received - hundreds of years in addition to the life sentence to ensure any future changes in murder laws won't leave a loophole from which Scanlan can escape.

"Evil people like this can never walk the streets again," said prosecutor Steve Wagstaffe.

Defense attorney Cliff Cretan offered no mitigating factors and Foiles agreed.

"For your deeds you will die in prison," he said, ending the sentencing hearing and a case which has been bizarre from nearly its Fall 2002 beginning.

During a three-month span between August and November 2002, Scanlan and a robbery crew criss-crossed the Peninsula robbing convenience stores, restaurants and gas stations in five cities. On Oct. 11, 2002, Scanlan's crew robbed the Wells Fargo of about $4,000 and left two people shot, including Martel.

Aside from Martel's death, Scanlan pleaded guilty to five counts of attempted murder, six counts of armed robbery, one count of attempted robbery and one count of assault with a firearm.

Scanlan eventually surrendered to a store clerk in Beaverton, Ore. and the following April pleaded guilty. During the last year, Scanlan has been in and out of court, by turns asking for a judge to impose death, asking to represent himself and trying to fire his attorney. For every request Scanlan lodged, he ultimately changed his mind.

After jurors deadlocked 9-3 in favor of death, District Attorney Jim Fox decided against retrying Scanlan. He cited financial factors plus the emotional toll on the victims, many who must already gear up to testify in the pending trials of Scanlan's accomplices.

Immediately after that decision, Scanlan was sentenced for the robbery of a Redwood City gas station and transferred to San Quentin State Prison. He was returned there yesterday until he can be permanently assigned to a maximum security facility such as Pelican Bay State Prison.

Jurors

Three jurors who pushed for the death penalty attended yesterday's hearing and spent time with Martel afterward. None of the trio believed Scanlan's apologies during his trial or his added comments yesterday.

"It's disgusting," said one female juror who declined to give her name. A male juror claimed it was a way for Scanlan to regain control.

The male juror admitted feeling life is a harsher sentence but said under California law he was obligated to return a vote for death.

During his remarks, Martel took one last swipe at the jury for not unanimously agreeing. A third female juror said she took the comments personally at first but understands his feelings.

Evidence never presented to the jury, such as Scanlan's journal and a videotape of Alice Martel, may have swayed the others, the jurors said. But, they agreed, there is no way of knowing if a new jury would have acted any differently.

"Ultimately, it's about providing justice, not just carrying out what David Martel wants," the male juror said.