WIDOW TELLS COURT ABOUT HER OWN `LIFE TERM'

AUBURN -- Judy Peckler still wakes up every morning from a nightmare,
tortured by the memory of her husband and two children being killed by a
drunken driver.

``I want you to know about my first waking moment of each day, when the
nausea of the nightmare is not a dream but the raw reality of my life-term
sentence,'' the Los Gatos widow told a tear-filled courtroom Wednesday as
the man who killed half her family was about to be sentenced.

Peckler and her two surviving daughters were joined by 50 people from Los
Gatos. They gathered in the historic Placer County Courthouse to ensure that
Judge J. Richard Couzens imposed at least the 24 years-to-life sentence that
was part of a plea bargain with Robert Phillip Scott, a multiple
drunken-driving offender.

Scott was driving the pickup truck that killed Jim Peckler, 52, and his
daughter Jill, 21, and son Jeff, 15, on Jan. 17, 1997. The three were five
minutes from the Northstar Ski Resort near Lake Tahoe where they planned to
spend a long weekend.

``Robert Scott took away three of the people I loved most in life -- my
sister, my brother and my dad, who were the biggest influences in my life,''
daughter Jennifer Peckler, 26, told the packed courtroom through sobs.

``And in a way, he took away my mom, too,'' she added. ``Her struggle is
overwhelming every day. In many ways now, I mother her.''

Support of friends

Among those who attended the sentencing hearing were several Los Gatos High
School friends of Jeff Peckler, who was described as an athlete and a gifted
writer. College friends of Jill Peckler, an All-America track star at the
University of California-Davis, also came. Jim Peckler, a real estate
investor, was active in school, civic and youth sports activities. The town
of Los Gatos rallied around Judy Peckler and her daughters after the deaths.

Deputy District Attorney Eugene Gini had sought a much longer sentence for
the four counts of second-degree murder committed by Scott, whose brother
also died in the crash. Couzens abided by the plea bargain, handing down the
agreed-upon sentence.

By pleading guilty to the charges in September, Scott avoided a trial. His
lawyers said he went for the plea to spare both his parents and the Pecklers
more pain. He could be eligible for parole after serving about 22 years.

Judy Peckler said her strongest emotion after the sentencing was relief. She
had told the judge during the hearing, which included family videos of
birthdays, graduations and vacations, that she was confident he would mete
out a ``just'' sentence.

Later, she said the actual number of years Scott received was not as
important as the message that a lengthy sentence sent: ``It reinforced that
there is malice aforethought when one drinks and drives.''

Scott, a 37-year-old Truckee construction worker, showed little emotion
during the proceedings. He had Deputy Public Defender Jon Ward read a
statement he had written to the Peckler family: ``I want you to know how
truly sorry I am and that I feel the pain of what I did every day. The only
good I can hope for is that my sentence will motivate other alcoholics to
understand the real dangers of drinking and driving.''

Scott, Ward said, ``is not a monster but an alcoholic.'' He had a blood
alcohol level of 0.22 percent -- almost three times the legal limit for
driving -- when his truck crossed narrow two-lane Highway 267 near Northstar
and slammed head-on into the Pecklers' sport utility vehicle.

Scott was traveling at 70 mph. Jim Peckler was going 14 mph. Scott's brother
was thrown from the bed of the pickup truck and killed instantly. The truck
also smashed into another car and injured four other people, two of whom
testified Wednesday.

Gini, in urging the judge to impose a stiffer sentence, said Scott should
not be pitied ``because his behavior showed a pattern of taking risks with
other people's lives. He had ample chances to respond to his alcoholism. But
it was too late. Jim, Jill and Jeff had no choice. Mr. Scott did.''

Earlier conviction

Scott had at least one other conviction for driving under the influence in
recent years and other brushes with the law over his drinking, Gini said.

Scott's father, Frank, told the court that his son is not a bad person but
he ``had a severe problem with alcohol. . . . The events of that day truly
haunt him.''

``We deeply regret your tragic loss, he said, looking at Judy Peckler.
``Your family is constantly in our thoughts and prayers.''

Checked-by: Rolf Ernst