At the sentencing hearing in Sacramento, Judge W.J. Harpham said, "It's hard to find the adjectives for the terror the defendant put these hostages through." He sentenced Loi Khac Nguyen to 49 life terms in prison, 41 to be served consecutively without the chance of parole. Information that surfaced at Nguyen's trial revealed the men's motivation for committing the crime was that they were frustrated by their inability to learn English and find jobs. Nguyen initially served his sentence at the California State Prison, Lancaster. At some point he was transferred to California State Prison, Centinela, where he is currently serving his term. His CDCR number is J69791.