This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Just before he received a sentence that could possibly keep him in prison for the rest of his life, Juan Andreas Zalazar told a judge that he hopes to change while he serves time behind bars for shooting and killing Lee Mart clerk David Marsh last year.

"I'm going to try to be a man that Mr. Marsh would be proud of," the shackled 24-year-old defendant said Tuesday.

Zalazar — who first became involved in gangs in his early teens — said he also hopes that the fatal shooting will show his nephews and other young men what happens when they get caught up in the gang lifestyle.

"I know what I did was horrible," he said. "The choices that I made were horrible. The result is that I took away a good man's life. ... I'm good with the sentence. I'm fine with it because of how wrong what happened was. I deserve the punishment and I'll take it without complaint or excuses."

Salazar pleaded guilty in February to first-degree felony counts of manslaughter and aggravated robbery. The charges were enhanced due to gun and gang involvement, according to court records.

On Tuesday, 3rd District Judge Randall Skanchy handed down a five-years-to-life sentence for the manslaughter charge and a 10-years-to-life sentence on the aggravated robbery count.

Zalazar was one of three men charged in the fatal shooting. Martin Castillo, 20, and Alexis Alan Garcia, 21, are expected to be sentenced next week for their roles in the convenience store robbery-turned-homicide.

Charging documents say Garcia and Zalazar told investigators they were members of a gang and that the robbery was planned as a means of initiating Castillo into the gang.

Surveillance footage from the store on March 18, 2015 shows two men run into the store — their faces covered with bandanas and hats pulled low — and rush to the counter where Marsh stood at the register.

The footage shows Marsh hand over money from the cash drawer, and then throw the empty tray at the men as they begin to flee.

"As they left, Mr. Marsh was upset with all that," Deputy Salt Lake District Attorney Matthew Janzen said Tuesday. "He had been robbed many times before as a clerk for 20 years. He had had enough and he threw the register and it hit Mr. Zalazar on the back of his shoulder or head. Mr. Zalazar could have let it go. He had the money. But he didn't."

After Zalazar was hit in the head, surveillance video shows the man turning and firing two shots towards Marsh. The clerk was struck in the head and the chest, Janzen said.

Marsh was taken off life support five days later, his sister, Sandi Baxter, told the judge Tuesday.

The victim's three sisters spoke in court, telling the judge of their brother's infectious smile, how he cared for others and how he was deeply religious. He was a man who gave freely to others, sister Susan McAdoo said, and likely would have given Zalazar and his friends the money if they had just asked for it.

"I want Mr. Zalazar to know that my brother forgives you," McAdoo said. "And I want you to know that I forgave you even when I was in the hospital [with Marsh.] I want you to know that whatever sentence you have here on earth is nothing to compare to what you will have to answer to when you see God."

A third sister, Lori Walton, told the judge she fears that Zalazar will continue a gang lifestyle in prison.

"My biggest fear is that he's young and he'll get out and he'll do this to another family," she said. "That this will continue. I hope he takes this opportunity to break that cycle."

Garcia, who entered the store with Zalazar, pleaded guilty to first-degree felony aggravated robbery and second-degree felony manslaughter. Castillo, who was the getaway driver, pleaded guilty to first-degree felony aggravated robbery. All three defendants were initially charged with first-degree felony murder.