Left: Barry L. Garza during a Zoom hearing (WJBK). Right Amber Jo Thomas (Purse Funeral Home).
A 58-year-old man in Michigan will likely spend the rest of his life behind bars for killing his ex-girlfriend, ambushing her outside work while she was on her break and shooting her multiple times in broad daylight.
Washtenaw County Trial Court Judge Carol Kuhnke on Friday ordered Barry Lee Garza to serve 30 to 60 years in a state correctional facility for the 2023 slaying of 40-year-old Amber Jo Thomas, court records show. The court credited Garza with 995 days of time already served.
Garza in February pleaded no contest to one count each of second-degree murder and assault with intent to murder in connection with the attack. In exchange for his plea, prosecutors dropped an additional felony firearms charge.
During Friday's sentencing hearing, family members and friends described Thomas as a kind and vibrant woman who had tried to protect herself in the months leading up to her death, according to a report from MLive.
"She was scared, but she was trying to survive," said Jessica Richardson, a friend and co-worker who witnessed the aftermath of the shooting. "Despite everything she did to protect herself, this defendant found her. He came to her workplace, and he took her life."
Relatives urged the court to impose the maximum penalty.
Thomas' mother reportedly held up photographs of her daughter in court and spoke directly to Garza, telling him, "I want you to see, Barry, what you took from us."
Thomas' brother told Garza he had "brought nothing but grief, depression, and discontent to our family."
From the bench, Kuhnke said the evidence against Garza showed he had planned and deliberately killed Thomas.
"Given where he lived and where the incident occurred, clearly he had to drive some distance to get there, had to pack a gun, had to load a gun and get to her place of work and wait for his opportunity," the judge reportedly said.
As Law&Crime previously reported, the fatal shooting unfolded on Aug. 3, 2023, when Garza drove to the Linden Square Assisted Living facility in Saline and opened fire in a nearby parking lot while Thomas was on a break.
Authorities said Garza shot Thomas in the neck and also wounded a 67-year-old man who was with her at the time before fleeing in a tan Ford Focus. A Washtenaw County sheriff's deputy later encountered the crashed vehicle near South Ann Arbor Street and Willis Road, where Garza refused commands and was subdued with a Taser before being taken into custody.
Prosecutors alleged Garza showed no remorse in the immediate aftermath, telling authorities at the scene, "I'm not sorry I killed that f—ing b—." A judge later described the evidence against him as "devastating" while denying him bond.
The attack came just one week after Thomas obtained a personal protection order against Garza following a nearly decade-long relationship. In her filing, she said he had subjected her to years of physical and verbal abuse and that she feared he would follow through on repeated threats to kill her. Although the order was granted in late July of 2023, it was never served on Garza.
Police said the shooting unfolded around 11:35 a.m. in the 600 block of Woodland Drive, prompting an "active shooter" response as officers rushed to the scene and secured the area. Doctors initially listed Thomas in critical condition after rushing her to the hospital, but she later died from her injuries, leading to upgraded charges.
She is survived by her mother, siblings — including a twin brother — and extended family, who have pushed for her killer to face justice in the years since her death.