A state judge sentenced freeway shooter Toby Stangel this morning to three consecutive life prison terms with the possibility for parole for the murder of one motorist and attempted murders of two others.

Circuit Judge Glenn Kim also imposed mandatory minimum 20-year terms for each murder and attempted murder conviction because Stangel used a semi-automatic firearm to commit the crimes. The Hawaii Paroling Authority can set higher minimums.

Stangel’s parents had asked Kim to impose a sentence that would give their son hope.

Kim said he was compelled to impose the life prison terms back-to-back for the protection of the public. He said what Stangel did on June 3, 2011 was senseless and depraved, turning the public roadways of Oahu into killing zones. 

Stangel, 30, said he thought his life was in jeopardy and believed he was acting in self-defense when he killed 54-year-old Tammy Nguyen of Palolo, shot at three other motorists, injuring two of them, and shot at two Honolulu police officers at a traffic stop. 

His lawyer John Schum said Stangel was paranoid because he had been abusing drugs.