Telea: Fear motivated crime spree

Telea repeated used the phrase "I was afraid" and shared an incident behind a Hunter's Point gym when Scanlan reportedly held a gun to his head over a drug sale. Two weeks later, Telea said Scanlan and two others picked him and drove around looking for an armored car to attack before settling on the Burlingame Avenue Wells Fargo Bank.

Despite this duress defense, Telea admitted under cross-examination that since the Oct. 11, 2002 murder of manager Alice Martel he never told anybody else about Scanlan's reported threat.

Telea initially lied to police about his participation because he "didn't want to tell on the other guys I was with." Eventually, he told Inspector Bill Cody he felt "pressured" to participate, he said, "because of the way Seti forced me to do things I didn't want to do."

Scanlan confessed to firing the bullet that killed Martel along with a dozen other crimes. Last summer, prosecutors unsuccessfully sought the death penalty against him and he was sentenced to multiple life sentences in prison.

If convicted, Telea faces life in prison without parole. Under California law, he can be held just as responsible for Martel's death if jurors believe he participated in the felony robbery.

Telea is also accused of firing a shot into the shoulder of Martel's co-worker as he huddled for safety under a desk during the minute-long heist.

Telea said the shooting was accidental. He pulled the gun from his pants pocket at Scanlan's orders when he saw something move out of the corner of his eye.

"I turned my body and all of a sudden the gun went off ... I wasn't thinking of shooting the gun to that side," Telea said.

Despite his hesitance to participate, he never contacted police after the robbery out of fear, Telea said.

"I was afraid of Seti ... I didn't want Seti to come and shoot me or kill me," he said.

On Nov. 1, Scanlan sent accomplices Amu "Billy" Wynn, 29, Manny Liu, 28, and Semisi Umufuke to fetch Telea. The four robbed a Carl's Jr. and market simultaneously in Mountain View, touching off a high-speed chase with police that left one office shot in the cheek. Again, Telea testified he only shot a gun out of fear. Scanlan put a gun to his side after the robbery, Telea said.

Bolstering his claims of fright, Telea testified about Scanlan reportedly taking him to an earlier robbery in which he abused a clerk and stole money. Prosecutor Steve Wagstaffe tried to raise doubts about the validity of the stories, pointedly asking Telea why yesterday was the first time the defendant ever mentioned that robbery or the threats behind the gym. He also questioned Telea's claims that Wynn might shoot him if he didn't get in the car Oct. 11, 2002 when they picked him up for the robbery.

"You had no basis to conclude that ... You're making that up today, aren't you? Wagstaffe asked.

Telea denied lying.

Keyes began his defense case Tuesday afternoon after Wagstaffe finished his evidence with a two-hour videotape of Telea's interview by Mountain View police. Prior to calling his first witness, Keyes also haggled with Wagstaffe over the right to call Telea's family members as witnesses. Typically, testimony about a defendant's childhood or other possibly subjective witnesses are limited only to a trial's penalty phase.

Yesterday morning, Telea's mother, stepbrother and sister-in-law described him as a quiet man who disliked guns. Telea himself testified that prior to the bank robbery he never fired a weapon.

Telea remains in custody on no-bail status. The two remaining accomplices will begin their respective trials after Telea's case is completed. Umufuke cut a plea bargain earlier this year on the Mountain View robberies and is currently serving a seven-year sentence.

Wagstaffe continues his cross-examination of Telea this morning. Keyes expects to finish his case today with a final witness from Seattle and two experts.

Michelle Durand can be reached by e-mail: michelle@smdailyjournal.com or by phone: (650) 344-5200 ext. 104. What do you think of this story? Send a letter to the editor: letters@smdailyjournal.com.