POUGHKEEPSIE -Thomas Case, 54, a retired Los Angeles Police Department member and owner of Bilmar Nursery Christmas tree farm in Pleasant Valley, was sentenced Tuesday to 20 years in prison for the death of Anthony Cuozzo, 20, in October 2024.
Cuozzo was the son of Case’s girlfriend, Sara Cooper, who was present the night Case shot Cuozzo four times in the back and who spoke in court Tuesday.
“Today’s sentence holds Thomas Case accountable for taking the life of a young man, Anthony Cuozzo,” said Dutchess County DA Anthony Parisi. “Anthony’s family has endured an unimaginable loss, and no sentence can restore what was taken from them. We hope, however, that today’s outcome provides some measure of justice and brings a degree of finality after a long and difficult process.”
Case faced a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison, with the decision left to Judge Edelman-Reyes.
Four individuals gave victim impact statements to the judge amid the packed the courtroom, with three asking for Case to receive the 25-year maximum sentence. The defendant’s girlfriend did not make a recommendation.
The victim’s grandmother, Eileen Reynolds, spoke of how her grandson, Anthony Cuozzo, had lived in her Poughkeepsie home for several years and said he was not a violent person and had been “beginning to build a future for himself” under her care. “There is no sentence that this court can give that will bring Anthony back,” she told Judge Edelman-Reyes.
The victim’s uncle, Steven Fraleigh, told the court that “Anthony was never comfortable with Tom (defendant)” and that Case had shown no mercy or remorse regarding the death of his nephew.
The victim’s father, Anthony Cuozzo, said he had a strained relationship with his son, but he had aspired to have a better relationship with him. “I always thought there’d be more time.” The grieving father had arrived at the scene before EMS on October 5, 2024, and saw his son dying in the road. Recounting that image, he asked for the maximum sentence. “I hope he dies on a cold, hard floor like he let Anthony die on the road.”
The victim’s mother, Sara Cooper, who said she was planning a future with Case, addressed the court and attempted to discredit the statements provided by her mother and brother. Noting that she had been planning a future with Case, she also said, “On that day, I lost my son and my future,” drawing many head shakes from those in the gallery, before she further criticized her mother’s victim impact statement.
When Case was finally allowed to speak, he delivered a lengthy statement that required the judge to intervene multiple times.
“We’re not here because of his (victim’s) greatness,” he told the court, noting that the victim had a lengthy record of emotional breakdowns. He then spent several minutes attacking the statements made by relatives of the victim, praising his girlfriend, attacking the victim’s mental health, and rambling incoherently. His continued attacks on the grandmother, victim, and victim’s father were eventually reined in by Judge Edelman-Reyes.
“I’ve given this a lot of thought,” the judge said, noting that Case was recorded standing over the victim after the gunshots, saying, “You think you can kill me,” and that all he had to do that night was “stay in the house.” Before giving the sentence, the judge said that Case had expressed remorse “today” but had still refused to accept accountability for taking the life of the victim.
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