"We're satisfied with today's sentencing because this was a man bent on mass murder who had an elaborate plan to injure many people," said Tom Farris, one of the Santa Clara County prosecutors who tried the case.

The sentence was the best the court could have done, said Martha Kanter, chancellor of the Foothill-DeAnza Community College district who was president of DeAnza at the time DeGuzman's arrest.

"This closes a difficult chapter in our history," she said. "It's hard to assess if [the attack] would have happened, but many of us wouldn't be here today if it had."

On Jan. 29, 2001, a San Jose Longs Drugs photo clerk discovered photographs of DeGuzman posing with numerous explosive devices. DeGuzman was arrested and, in April 2001, convicted of 108 counts of possessing a destructive device with intent to injure. But before sentencing could occur, Santa Clara Superior Court Judge Robert Ahern came across two appellate court decisions that caused him to vacate 106 of the convictions said Farris.

Ahern's interpretation found that DeGuzman could not be charged separately for each explosive he possessed. Though DeGuzman held an excess of 50 devices, he was only sentenced to seven years in state prison, the maximum sentence on one of the remaining two counts, Farris explained.

Prosecutors filed an appeal challenging Ahern's interpretation of the court decisions, and the sentence was overturned by the Sixth District California Court of Appeals in November 2003. Judges decided that the original ruling—calling for a separate count for each device DeGuzman possessed—was correct and ordered a reinstatement of the original convictions. On June 23, DeGuzman was resentenced for the original 108 counts.

"We are grateful this has been concluded," Kanter said. "Justice has been served."