The punishment closes a case that began with gunfire outside a Saline assisted living center in 2023.

SALINE, Mich. — A Washtenaw County judge sentenced Barry Lee Garza to 30 to 60 years in prison for killing Amber Jo Thomas outside her workplace in Saline, nearly three years after she sought court protection from him.

The sentence gives Thomas’ family the clearest answer yet in a case that moved from an active shooter response to a murder prosecution and then to a no-contest plea. Garza pleaded no contest in February to second-degree murder and assault with intent to murder. Prosecutors dismissed a felony firearm count under the plea deal. The court credited Garza with 995 days already served, but the sentence still makes it likely he will spend decades in state custody.

The killing happened Aug. 3, 2023, outside Linden Square Assisted Living, where Thomas worked. Police said Garza went to the area while Thomas was on a break and opened fire near a parking lot across from the facility. Thomas, 40, was shot in the neck. Richard Edwards, who was with her, also was shot and survived. Washtenaw County Trial Court Judge Carol Kuhnke said at sentencing that the facts showed planning, including travel to the scene, a loaded gun and time spent waiting for a chance to attack. Jessica Richardson, a friend and co-worker, said Thomas had been scared but was still trying to live through the danger around her.

The first emergency calls came in around 11:35 a.m. from the 600 block of Woodland Drive, sending officers to what was treated as an active shooter scene. Police found two wounded people and secured the area around the assisted living center and the nearby former UAW hall. Thomas was taken to a hospital and later died. Garza fled in a tan Ford Focus, authorities said. A Washtenaw County sheriff’s deputy later came upon the crashed vehicle near South Ann Arbor Street and Willis Road. Police said Garza did not obey commands at the crash scene and was subdued with a Taser before he was taken into custody.

Thomas had filed for a personal protection order in Lenawee County about a week before the shooting. In the filing, she described a nine-year relationship with Garza and said he had abused her physically and verbally. She wrote that she was afraid and that Garza had said several times he was going to kill her. The order was approved July 28, 2023, but court records described in hearings showed it had not been served on Garza before the shooting. The unanswered service issue became one of the facts that framed the case, but it did not change the criminal charges that followed Thomas’ death.

Garza was first charged with open murder, assault with intent to murder and felony firearm after an arraignment in 15th District Court. A not guilty plea was entered for him at that stage. A magistrate denied bond after prosecutors argued he was a danger to the community and a flight risk. Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Jessica Blanch told the court then that Garza’s words after the shooting showed intent. The judge later called the evidence devastating. The case continued in Washtenaw County court until the February plea shifted the matter from trial preparation to sentencing.

At the sentencing hearing, Thomas’ relatives and friends asked for the strongest punishment available under the plea. Her mother held up photographs and spoke directly to Garza about the life taken from the family. Thomas’ brother said the killing brought grief and depression into the home. The accounts focused not only on the shooting but also on the years before it, when family members said Thomas was trying to break away and protect herself. Kuhnke agreed that the record showed more than a sudden confrontation. She said Garza had gone to the workplace, armed himself and waited for the opening that ended Thomas’ life.

Linden Square became part of the case because Thomas’ work life was tied closely to the people who gathered after her death. The facility said she put residents first and that co-workers looked to her as a mentor. At a vigil held after the shooting, loved ones, colleagues and residents came together outside the place where she had worked. Saline Police Chief Marlene Radzik said the small community was trying to heal after a killing that shocked people who did not expect violence there. Mayor Brian Marl said the shooting showed that even a quiet city had to be ready for a serious public safety emergency.

The case now stands as a prison sentence rather than a pending murder file. Garza’s time-served credit dates back to his arrest after the 2023 crash, and the Michigan Department of Corrections will determine the next custody steps. No trial is scheduled because the no-contest plea resolved the charges. The next formal milestones will be prison processing and any later appellate or post-sentencing filings.

Author note: Last updated May 20, 2026.