A retired Los Angeles Police Department officer has been sentenced to 20 years in prison nearly two years after prosecutors said he fatally shot his girlfriend’s son in New York.
Thomas Case, 54, was sentenced Tuesday, September 8, days after jurors decided he “intentionally caused the death” of 20-year-old Anthony Cuozzo in Pleasant Valley in October 2024, according to prosecutors.
Jurors also determined Case, who they found guilty of first-degree manslaughter, “acted under the influence of extreme emotional disturbance” during the shooting, the Dutchess County District Attorney’s Office said in a Tuesday news release.
Case is accused of shooting Cuozzo after Cuozzo reportedly stabbed him with a pocketknife at Case’s home the evening of October 5, 2024, according to the Mid Hudson News. (The property serves as his residence and business location.)
Case repeatedly fired at Cuozzo from behind while Cuozzo had been speaking with a 911 operator in Case’s driveway following the alleged stabbing, per the news outlet. Three of four shots struck Cuozzo, who was ultimately taken to a local hospital and declared dead.
At Case’s sentencing, Cuozzo’s mother Sara Cooper spoke, according to the Mid Hudson News, and said, “On that day, I lost my son and my future.”
In a statement, Dutchess County District Attorney Anthony Parisi said, “Today’s sentence holds Thomas Case accountable for taking the life of a young man, Anthony Cuozzo.”
“Anthony’s family has endured an unimaginable loss, and no sentence can restore what was taken from them,” Parisi added.
Case said during his trial that he believed he was going to die during the altercation with Cuozzo, who he claimed was “mentally ill,” the Times Union reported. He also alleged he opened fire on Cuozzo to protect Cooper, Cuozzo’s sister and local residents.
Case’s defense attorney contended at trial that his client responded to Cuozzo “in accordance with his training” from his 20-year law enforcement career with the LAPD and six years with the U.S. Marine Corps.
Cuozzo’s father, also named Anthony Cuozzo, recalled at Case’s sentencing how he arrived at Case’s home following the shooting and saw his son on the ground, per the Mid Hudson News.
He asked the judge to hand Case the maximum sentence, which would’ve been 25 years in prison, according to the news outlet. Referring to Case, he said “I hope he dies on a cold, hard floor like he let Anthony die on the road.”
Case’s 20-year sentence will be followed by 5 years of supervised release, according to prosecutors.
Case owns Bilmar Nurseries, a Christmas tree farm in Pleasant Valley, the Mid Hudson News reported. Google lists the business as permanently closed as of Wednesday, September 9.
Pleasant Valley is about an 85-mile drive north of New York City.
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