VISTA, Calif. -- A former Border Patrol agent who botched a plan to kill his estranged wife and mistakenly attacked two of her roommates with a hatchet was sentenced Tuesday to 30 years to life in prison.

Gamalier Reyes Rivera, 34, was convicted last month of premeditated attempted murder, aggravated mayhem, assault with a deadly weapon and burglary. Jurors acquitted him of torture.

Judge Runston Maino did the sentencing in Vista.

Maino called it "more than an explosion of violence" and that it showed a sophistication of planning and that he went to Escondido with the intention of killing these people. He said Rivera "left a trail of devastation" and prison is "the price you have to pay."

During the trial, Deputy District Attorney George Loyd said Rivera -- who had experience with a Border Patrol SWAT-like unit -- made a "to-do list" in 2005 detailing how to kill his wife and get away with it.

Four years later, in July 2009, Rivera put the plan into motion by breaking into an Escondido home with the intent to kill Erika Von der Heyde, he said.

Rivera and Von der Heyde were married in 2002, Loyd said. Rivera joined the Border Patrol in 2003, and the couple had a daughter, the prosecutor said.

In 2005, the Riveras filed for divorce but reconciled and remarried in 2007, Loyd said. They filed for divorce again in 2009 and were living apart and dating other people when he tried to kill her, Loyd said.

Loyd said Rivera armed himself with two hatchets and took a cab from his home in Imperial Beach to the house in Escondido, where Von der Heyde had just moved in with her boyfriend, Jesus Vinas, and other roommates.

On July 9, 2009, Rivera broke into the Escondido home about 1 a.m., looking for his estranged wife and Vinas, but instead found Chris Anguiano and his girlfriend, Samantha Shaffer, who were sleeping in another bedroom. Rivera attacked Anguiano, wounding him with eight blows.

Anguiano stood and said he wished he could address Rivera face-to-face. Rivera then swiveled around to listen.

"I had a lot of dreams. I was the one supposed to take care of my parents, not them to take care of me. You will pay for what you did. Sooner of later, your time will run out," said Anguiano. "Dios de vendiga. May God be with you. All you have left. You're nothing but a number."

Rivera listened to a chorus of angry words from Chris's family and friends as well.

Christina Wright called Rivera "a true, weak, worthless coward."

Chris Greene angrily told Rivera, "You're going where the rats dwell, where you deserve to be."

The victim's mother, Kiyoko Anguiano, sobbed as she declared, "I want you to stay in prison for the rest of your life."

His father, Santos Anguiano, said, "One more thing for my friends in the Marine Corps: he's a disgrace to them, and to all my friends in law enforcement: he's a disgrace to them."

Rivera, at one point, wiped away a tear and finally, a few moments later and almost two years after the hatchet attack, spoke to Anguiano.

"Chris, I want you to know I never hated you. I understand the hate you feel, want you to know I am sorry. I never had a target, never wanted anyone to get hurt. I had a bad plan that went from bad to worse. I'll have to live with this the rest of my life," Rivera said.

Anguiano suffered brain damage and was left blind. His girlfriend suffered deep cuts to her legs and lost the tip of one of her big toes, according to court testimony.

Loyd said there was proof that Rivera intended to kill both Von der Heyde and Vinas because the defendant first attacked a man when he went into the wrong bedroom.

Von der Heyde and Vinas were asleep in another bedroom and awoke to screams.

"He (Rivera) hit Chris and he hit Samantha with a hatchet, and he did it on purpose," Loyd said of the defendant.

Loyd said Rivera wasn't being honest when he testified that he went to the home only to scare his estranged wife.

Rivera's attorney, Bob Bernstein, conceded that his client was guilty of assault with a deadly weapon on Anguiano and but said there was no intent to harm Shaffer.

The defense attorney said there was "zero evidence" that Rivera had any animosity toward Von der Heyde's boyfriend or that he intended to kill him. In fact, when confronted by Vinas after attacking Anguiano and Shaffer, Rivera dropped a hatchet and fled before being arrested nearby, Bernstein told the jury.

Bernstein called the 2005 "to-do list" a "fantasy note" that Rivera never acted on.

Afterward, Anguiano reflected on Rivera's apology and said, "I'll keep it clean. I'll say it's BS. Who walks in a room holding two hatchets and not going to hurt anyone? In church, I'm learning forgiveness, but right now probably can't do it."