Barry Lee Garza received a 30- to 60-year sentence after a plea in the killing of Amber Jo Thomas.
SALINE, Mich. — Amber Jo Thomas’ family waited nearly three years for a sentence after she was shot outside work, and a Washtenaw County judge has now ordered Barry Lee Garza to spend 30 to 60 years in prison.
The sentence ended the main criminal case but did not soften the loss described in court. Thomas was 40, worked at Linden Square Assisted Living and had recently gone to court for protection from Garza. Her relatives and friends told the judge that she had tried to protect herself before she was killed. Garza pleaded no contest in February to second-degree murder and assault with intent to murder, leaving the sentencing hearing as the point where the family could speak directly about the harm.
Family members entered the courtroom with memories of Thomas that stretched far beyond the parking lot where she was shot. Her mother held photographs and spoke about the person missing from the family. Her brother described the grief that followed the killing. Friends said Thomas had been vibrant and kind, and co-workers remembered her as a steady presence at the assisted living center. The hearing focused on a public act of violence, but the testimony reached back into the private strain that came before it. Judge Carol Kuhnke heard those statements before imposing the prison term and crediting Garza with 995 days served.
The shooting happened during the late morning of Aug. 3, 2023. Police said Thomas was on a break from Linden Square when Garza appeared near the former UAW hall across from the facility. She was outside with Richard Edwards when Garza opened fire. Thomas was shot in the neck and Edwards also was wounded. Officers were sent to the 600 block of Woodland Drive after 911 callers reported an active shooter around 11:35 a.m. Thomas was taken for medical care but died later that day. Edwards survived, and his injuries became the basis for the assault with intent to murder count that Garza later resolved by plea.
Garza fled after the shooting in a tan Ford Focus, authorities said. The escape ended after a crash near South Ann Arbor Street and Willis Road. Police said Garza did not comply with commands and was subdued with a Taser. The arrest quickly moved the case into court, where prosecutors said the facts showed an ambush rather than a sudden fight. At an early hearing, Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Jessica Blanch said Garza had shown up at Thomas’ work and shot her, then shot the man near her. A judge denied bond, finding the case serious enough to keep Garza jailed as it moved forward.
Thomas had sought a personal protection order before the shooting. In the filing, she said she had been in a relationship with Garza for nine years and described physical and verbal abuse. She said he had threatened to kill her several times and that she was afraid. The order was approved July 28, 2023, but it had not been served on Garza before the fatal attack. That timeline became one of the most painful facts in the case for those who knew Thomas. It showed that she had taken a formal step toward safety shortly before she was killed outside the place where she earned a living.
The case first carried charges of open murder, assault with intent to murder and felony firearm. Garza stood mute at arraignment, and a plea was entered for him. The felony firearm charge was later dismissed as part of the plea agreement. By pleading no contest to second-degree murder and assault with intent to murder, Garza gave up the path toward trial and moved the case toward sentencing. The plea also spared family members from trial testimony about the shooting, but it left them to describe the loss in their own words at the final hearing.
The workplace itself became a gathering place after the killing. Loved ones, colleagues and residents attended a vigil at Linden Square days after Thomas died. The facility said Thomas was a dedicated employee who put residents first. At the vigil, people said she had found her place at the assisted living center. Saline Police Chief Marlene Radzik said the city was trying to heal after a killing that struck a community where such violence is rare. Mayor Brian Marl said the event made clear that public safety planning matters in every community, including places that do not expect a daytime shooting near a care facility.
Kuhnke said the record showed Garza had planned the attack. She pointed to the trip to Saline, the gun, the loaded weapon and the wait outside Thomas’ workplace. The judge’s sentence means Garza faces decades in prison, even with credit for time served since his arrest. Thomas’ relatives had asked the court for the maximum available punishment. The 30- to 60-year term gives the state prison system control of Garza’s custody and leaves parole questions for a much later date under Michigan procedures.
For Thomas’ family, the sentencing hearing marked a legal ending but not a full close. The public record now includes the protection order, the workplace shooting, the police pursuit, the plea and the family’s statements in court. Garza remains convicted of killing Thomas and wounding Edwards, and the next step is continued state custody under the sentence imposed by Kuhnke.
Author note: Last updated May 20, 2026.