A routine ATM service call at a Sacramento bank ended in a deadly carjacking and, now, a life sentence. A Sacramento man was ordered to spend life in prison on Saturday for a 2021 attack that left an ATM technician gravely injured and later dead, bringing criminal closure more than four years after the June 2021 incident.
According to FOX40, a Sacramento County Superior Court judge imposed the life term on Jimmy Washington following his earlier conviction. The outlet identified the victim as ATM technician James Nguyen and reported that the violence unfolded during a service call on June 17, 2021.
How prosecutors say the attack unfolded
Prosecutors described a chaotic scene in which Nguyen was working on a drive-up Wells Fargo ATM near Stockton Boulevard and Florin Road when his work van was stolen, according to the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office. Authorities say Washington was at the bank cashing a check when he took the van. When Nguyen tried to stop the theft, he was dragged, left dangling from the open driver’s window, and then fell, after which he was run over.
Nguyen survived the initial attack but remained in a vegetative state for almost nine months before dying from his injuries, according to the DA’s account.
Jury conviction and sentence
A jury found Washington guilty in November 2025 of first-degree murder and related counts, with a special-circumstance finding that the killing occurred during a carjacking, as reported in coverage of the jury's murder verdict. That special finding made Washington eligible for a life term and set the stage for sentencing.
Legal implications
Under California law, a special-circumstance finding tied to a carjacking can make a defendant eligible for life in prison without the possibility of parole, the DA’s office noted in its statement. Deputy District Attorney Cody Winchester of the Homicide Unit prosecuted the case for Sacramento County, according to the office.
Where the case stands now
According to FOX40, the sentence was handed down on Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026. Washington will remain in custody as any post-trial motions or appeals move forward. For now, the criminal case is closed at the trial level.
