This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated.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.
As Martin Castillo stood before a judge Monday to be sentenced for his role in the March 2015 shooting death of Lee Mart clerk David Marsh, the 20-year-old man denounced his gang ties and said he hopes his story will help deter young men from following a path similar to his.
"I want this story to help somebody," Castillo said before 3rd District Judge Paul Parker handed down his five-years-to-life prison sentence. "… These men sell you a dream, and that dream never comes true."
Castillo and a co-defendant, 21-year-old Alexis Alan Garcia, were sentenced Monday, six days after a fellow gang member, 24-year-old Juan Andreas Zalazar, was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison for shooting and killing Marsh during the convenience store robbery-turned-homicide.
Zalazar 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.
Castillo, whose attorney contested on Monday allegations from prosecutors that he was the getaway driver that day, had pleaded guilty to aggravated robbery. Garcia pleaded guilty to first-degree-felony aggravated robbery and second-degree-felony manslaughter. All three defendants were initially charged with first-degree-felony murder.
Parker ordered Garcia to serve the maximum sentence: of six years to life for the robbery charge and two to 20 years behind bars for the manslaughter.
"I expect better of you," Parker told Garcia. "Society expects better of you. I hope one day you learn how to be a real man."
Surveillance footage from the store on March 18, 2015, shows two men, Zalazar and Garcia, run into the store — their faces covered with bandanas and hats pulled low — and rush to the counter where Marsh stood at the register. Marsh gave them cash at gunpoint and threw the empty drawer at the robbers as they ran away, which hit Zalazar in the head. Surveillance video then shows Zalazar turning and firing two shots toward Marsh. The clerk was struck in the head and the chest, according to prosecutors.
Marsh was taken off life support five days later, his sister, Sandi Baxter, told a judge last week.
Deputy Salt Lake District Attorney Matthew Janzen says Marsh's injuries would have been survivable if he had received prompt medical care, but "they left him there to suffer."
Another sister, Lori Walton, and Marsh's daughter, Kansas Marsh, spoke at the sentencing Monday.
Walton told a story about how her brother had given someone the coat off his back, revealing what his daughter called his "caring and compassionate" nature.
"[David Marsh] would always do without so others could have," Walton said. "He probably would have given [the robbers] the money out of his pocket if they asked, probably even his own car."
Kansas Marsh said her father was the exact opposite of the men who killed him and that he would have forgiven them.
But Parker said "forgiveness aside, repentance aside," there are certain acts that require certain consequences; taking away an innocent life, like David Marsh's, is one of those.
All the defendants said they took responsibility for their part in the crime and said they didn't contest the charges against them.
Castillo said he was "truly sorry" about what had happened.
"I do realize that a simple sorry doesn't suffice," he said, "but it's the first step forward."
Twitter: @mnoblenews, @jm_miller