Washtenaw County Judge Carol Kuhnke sentenced 58-year-old Barry Lee Garza to 30 to 60 years in prison for the 2023 fatal shooting of his ex-girlfriend, Amber Jo Thomas. Garza ambushed Thomas outside her workplace in Saline and also wounded a bystander. The sentencing came after Garza pleaded no contest to second-degree murder and assault with intent to murder.
On Friday, Judge Carol Kuhnke ordered Garza to serve 30 to 60 years in a state correctional facility, crediting him with 995 days already served. The attack occurred on August 3, 2023, around 11:35 a.m. in the 600 block of Woodland Drive near the Linden Square Assisted Living facility in Saline, where Thomas worked. Garza drove there, waited for her break, and shot her in the neck, also injuring a 67-year-old man with her before fleeing in a tan Ford Focus. Deputies later found his crashed vehicle near South Ann Arbor Street and Willis Road, subduing him with a Taser after he refused commands. Thomas died from her injuries, prompting upgraded charges against Garza, who told authorities at the scene, 'I'm not sorry I killed that f—ing b—.'