Thirteen eyewitnesses were called to testify at Tam's trial, including eight of the eleven wounded; none identified Curtis Tam as one of the gunmen, although the witness who initially spotted the trio running toward the restaurant identified Peter Ng from a police photograph. The prosecutors rested their case against Tam on August 29 after playing a recording of his confession, taken after his arrest on March 24. Attorneys made closing arguments on September 1, and after the Labor Day weekend, the jury reconvened on September 5; after deliberating for just over a day, the jury found Tam guilty of five counts of second degree murder, eleven counts of assault, and several weapons possession charges. Tam faced a sentence of up to 35 years imprisonment, but a defense attorney vowed to appeal the verdict, which he called "a compromise" because he thought "jury considered duress in reducing their finding of intent on Tam's part". The sentencing hearing was set for October 3. Tam received a sentence of 28 years imprisonment. On June 18, 1981, the California Court of Appeals reduced his sentence to 23 years. Tam filed another appeal in August 1981.