The judge said it was the maximum sentence possible after jurors rejected the death penalty.
Dexter Lewis, 25, was convicted in August of five counts of murder for the October 2012 stabbings at Fero's Bar and Grill. Prosecutors said Lewis led a four-man robbery crew at Fero's, where he killed the bar's owner and four customers: Young Fero, Kellene Fallon, Tereasa Beasley, Daria Pohl and Ross Richter.
Two men testified that Lewis stabbed his victims while they were held at gunpoint.
