Convicted killer Alberto Alvarez should receive the death penalty for murdering East Palo Alto police Officer Richard May, jurors decided Tuesday afternoon.

The six-man, six-woman panel returned with the verdict at 5 p.m., before a packed San Mateo County courtroom that included Alvarez' immediate family, many members of May's family and friends, and police officers.

Several jurors wept as the verdict was read.

If Superior Court Judge Craig Parsons agrees, Alvarez will be sent to San Quentin Prison, where he will await execution on Death Row.

The sentence is unlikely to be carried out for two decades, pending appeals.

Alvarez showed no emotion. Family members for both sides wept.

Alvarez is the first person to be sentenced to death in San Mateo County in 15 years, with the exception of Scott Peterson, whose case was a change of venue. Peterson's case is on appeal.

Celeste Carrington was the last "native" San Mateo County case and she was sentenced to death for murdering two people "execution style" in 1994.

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