The sentence followed earlier charges of open murder, assault with intent to murder and felony firearm.
SALINE, Mich. — Barry Lee Garza’s murder case ended without a trial after a no-contest plea and a 30- to 60-year prison sentence for the fatal shooting of Amber Jo Thomas outside her workplace.
The legal path began with open murder and ended with convictions for second-degree murder and assault with intent to murder. Garza entered the no-contest plea in February, and prosecutors dismissed a felony firearm charge as part of the agreement. Washtenaw County Trial Court Judge Carol Kuhnke imposed the prison term and gave Garza 995 days of jail credit. The case covered two victims: Thomas, who died after being shot, and Richard Edwards, who was wounded and survived.
The first charge came after police arrested Garza on Aug. 3, 2023, the day of the shooting. He was accused of going to the area around Linden Square Assisted Living, where Thomas worked, and waiting near a parking lot across from the facility. Police said Thomas was outside on a break with Edwards when Garza opened fire. Thomas was hit in the neck, and Edwards was also shot. Officers responding to reports of an active shooter found both victims in the area of Woodland Drive and North Maple Road. Thomas later died at a hospital, turning the case from a shooting investigation into a homicide prosecution.
Garza left the scene in a tan Ford Focus, according to police. The vehicle later crashed near South Ann Arbor Street and Willis Road. Authorities said he refused commands and was taken into custody after a Taser was used. Early court accounts said he had tried to flee after the crash and resisted arrest. The statements made at or near the arrest became part of the prosecution’s bond argument. Prosecutors said the comments showed a lack of remorse and supported the claim that Garza was a danger to the public. The defense sought a monetary bond, but the court denied release.
The arraignment placed the case before 15th District Court. Garza was charged with open murder in Thomas’ death, assault with intent to murder in Edwards’ shooting and felony firearm. He stood mute, and a not guilty plea was entered on his behalf. Magistrate Tamara Garwood ordered him held without bond. At that stage, prosecutors also described a personal protection order that Thomas had obtained shortly before the shooting. The order had been granted July 28, 2023, but had not yet been served. That timing later became a central fact in public accounts of the case.
Thomas’ protection order filing said she had been in a nine-year relationship with Garza and had experienced physical and verbal abuse. She said police had been called several times and that Garza had threatened to kill her. The filing also said he took her phone shortly before she went to court. The order showed Thomas had asked for legal protection less than a week before she was shot outside the assisted living center. The criminal case did not turn on whether Garza had been served, but the filing helped explain why prosecutors and family members described the attack as part of a longer pattern of fear.
As the case moved through court, the charges exposed Garza to a trial that could have focused on intent, premeditation, the second wounded victim and the alleged statements after arrest. The no-contest plea changed that course. It allowed the court to treat Garza as convicted without requiring a full trial record. It also reduced the murder charge from the original open murder count to second-degree murder under the plea agreement. The assault count remained because Edwards was shot in the same attack. By the time sentencing arrived, the main question was not guilt at trial but how much prison time the judge would order.
The sentencing hearing brought the case back to Thomas’ family. Her mother used photographs to show the person behind the court file. Her brother described the lasting harm to the family. Friends and co-workers said Thomas had been trying to survive a dangerous situation before the shooting. Washtenaw County Prosecutor Eli Savit had said after the initial charges that Thomas would be remembered and that his office would seek justice for her family. At sentencing, relatives asked for the maximum penalty, and the judge said the facts showed Garza had deliberately gone to Thomas’ workplace with a loaded gun.
The killing also left a record in Saline beyond the court docket. Linden Square Assisted Living hosted a vigil after Thomas died. Co-workers and residents gathered with her loved ones, and the facility said Thomas had been devoted to residents. Police Chief Marlene Radzik spoke about healing in a small community, while Mayor Brian Marl said the shooting showed violence could reach places that usually feel removed from it. The scene outside Linden Square became both the place of the attack and the place where people publicly marked Thomas’ life.
Garza’s case is now in the post-sentencing stage. The prison term of 30 to 60 years replaces the pending charges that followed the shooting, chase and arrest. Any future filings would come after the judgment, not as part of a scheduled trial. Thomas’ family leaves court with a sentence in place, while Garza remains in state custody for the killing and the separate shooting of Edwards.
Author note: Last updated May 20, 2026.