REDWOOD CITY (BCN) -- Jurors in San Mateo County are convicting 26-year-old Alberto Alvarez  of first-degree murder for fatally shooting East Palo Alto police  Officer Richard May in January 2006.

"We are relieved and overwhelmed," May's wife, Diana May, said in  the district attorney's office after the verdict was read in court.

The jury took just under six hours to reach a verdict after  beginning deliberations Tuesday.

May's family members cried quietly as the court clerk read the  verdict early Wednesday afternoon. Jurors found Alvarez guilty of first  degree-murder with the special circumstance of killing a peace officer,  making him eligible for the death penalty.

Prosecuting attorney Steve Wagstaffe said the verdict was "swift"  and reached unusually quickly for a murder trial.

He said the jury, comprised of six men and six  women, asked to see 17 pages of transcript from Alvarez's testimony about the  shooting, which occurred the afternoon of Jan. 7, 2006.

May had responded to a fight involving Alvarez at the Villa  Taqueria in East Palo Alto at about 4:30 p.m. that day. Alvarez and May  exchanged gunfire during a confrontation that followed a foot pursuit.  Alvarez suffered one bullet wound to the leg, and May died at the scene.

Less than 30 minutes after the jurors received the transcript of  Alvarez's testimony, they announced a verdict had been reached, Wagstaffe  said.

"The whole issue was, is it murder or self defense?" he said.

Wagstaffe had called the death an "execution," and said that  Alvarez shot May twice, then fired two more rounds to "finish him off" after  he was on the ground.

Defense attorneys Charles Robinson and Eric Liberman argued that  May shot Alvarez first, and that Alvarez fired back out of fear for his life.

"I don't think we'll ever really know what happened out there,"  Diana May said. "We really feel that Rich knew his job."

Wagstaffe called the case "black-and-white."

"I am extremely pleased that the jurors could see through the  defense's lies," Wagstaffe said.

The verdict came just before the start of the holiday weekend.

"We certainly have a good Thanksgiving ahead of us," said May's  sister, Tami McMillan.

May's daughter, Lauren May, now 13, said she is happy with the  conviction.

"We've been waiting four years for this," she said.

The family said they have never received an apology from Alvarez.

May's partner, Shante Williams, now an officer in the San  Francisco Police Department, said he wishes Alvarez would acknowledge to them  what happened.

"I hope he wakes up one day and says, 'I owe this family an  apology,'" Williams said.

"He hasn't shown any remorse," Diana May said. "He had the  chance," she added, referring to his testimony in the trial.

"I don't think he realizes what he's done," Lauren May said.

The penalty phase of the trial, in which the same jury will decide  whether to recommend death for Alvarez, begins Dec. 7 and could last several  weeks. During that phase, family members from both sides will be allowed to  address the court.

At minimum, Alvarez will be sentenced to life in prison without  the possibility of parole, Wagstaffe said.

"He will spend the remainder of his life in prison," Wagstaffe  said.

Liberman said he was disappointed with the outcome but that  he knew it was a difficult case.

"I frankly didn't know what to expect," he said. "We have no  choice but to honor and respect (the jury's) decision."

He said that Alvarez, who showed no emotion in court as the  verdict was read, is likely "shaken up."

"I'm sure...he's wondering what the future's going to hold,"  Liberman said. "His family is very upset. They're praying that the jury will  not vote for the death penalty."

Alvarez has been in custody without bail since his arrest the day  after he killed May.
 
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