A Las Vegas man who bound and gagged his girlfriend's two toddlers and left them in a garage while he went to a bar to watch a televised basketball game with friends has been sentenced to two to six years in prison.

Clark County District Court Judge James Bixler said at Tuesday's sentencing that Jonathan Weaver's actions were "stupid," and said he couldn't imagine anything more frightening for the children.

"But for a neighbor who heard them crying in the garage, they could have easily have died in there," the judge said.

Neighbors summoned police and firefighters broke into an apartment complex garage to get to the boys, ages 1 and 2. Police said they were found tied to car seats, each with a piece of clothing in his mouth.

The toddlers' mother left the boys with the 22-year-old Weaver while she was at night school, Las Vegas police said.

Weaver apologized at the sentencing hearing and the Las Vegas Sun reported that deputy public defender Amy Porray called his remorse genuine. Both told the judge that Weaver wasn't trying to hurt the boys — they said he bound them so they wouldn't hurt themselves.