SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- A man accused of killing four people while driving drunk has been found guilty on four counts of vehicular manslaughter and two counts related to drunken driving.

Roberto Vellanoweth, 64, was stoic, did not show emotion and put his head down at one point while the verdict was read.

A judge denied bail for Vellanoweth after his lawyer requested it.

A bailiff handcuffed Vellanoweth and immediately took him into custody.

Vellanoweth will be sentenced on Aug. 12. He faces nearly 18 years in prison.

The families of both the defendant and the victims were seen sobbing in court.

The charges stem from a March 2007 wreck on South Land Park Drive in south Sacramento that killed Shanice Patrice Carter, Brittanya Metchelle Nash, Brizchelle Ta'Corra Rice and Rice's 19-month-old son, Kamall Dino Savant Osby.

April Rice, whose two daughters and grandson were killed in the crash, said she was "happy" that Vellanoweth was taken away quickly from the courtroom.

"That's what we've been waiting for -- the day that he's handcuffed and walked out. And we were afraid we weren't going to get that today," Rice said. "He's been walking around for the last 15 months, you know, bailing out, and we can't see our family ever again. Like my daughter says, she says, 'He gets a chance to still visit with his family.' You know, holidays are hard."

Rice said although she would like an apology from Vellanoweth, she doesn't expect she'll ever get one.

Vellanoweth took the stand in his own defense last week and said the crash was unavoidable.

The defendant admitted to having three martinis while eating lunch at the Distillery prior to the crash.

He also drank what he thought was a non-alcoholic cocktail, a horchata drink, at Camino Real Restaurant on Broadway.

Vellanoweth said the owner of the restaurant told him it was a virgin kamikaze, and that although he didn't taste any alcohol in it, he wasn't entirely sure what it contained.

Police said Vellanoweth had a blood alcohol content of 0.16 percent, or twice the legal limit, following the wreck.

Justin Sylva, a paramedic who earlier testified on behalf of the defense, said during a cross-examination that Vellanoweth had a "heavy odor of alcohol" and was "extremely uncooperative" after the crash to the point that medical staff was unable to set an IV in his arm.

Vellanoweth, who was once appointed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to the state Board of Optometry and had been active in Republican politics, was stripped of his post after the crash.