Saco shooter gets 29 years in jail

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A Newsletter by the City of Saco, Maine	July, 2009	Return to newsletter index

Geoffrey Reese was sentenced to serve twenty-nine years in Maine State Prison for shooting his girlfriend, Tonya Garza, and leaving her to die on the side of the Cascade Road May 4, 2008. Reese was convicted of the crimes of Elevated Aggravated Assault, Aggravated Assault and being a Felon in Possession of a Firearm in a two week jury trial in early June of this year.

In the early morning hours of May 4, 2008 a motorist traveling on the Cascade Road called the Saco Police Dept. and spoke with Dispatcher Beth Colomb, reporting that he had found a woman on the side of the road severely injured. Dispatcher Colomb directed Mr. Hale to approach the victim while dispatching Saco Police and Rescue personnel to the scene. Ptl. Kyle Moody was the first officer on scene and was able to speak with Ms. Garza and obtain critical information about the identity of her assailant, Geoffrey Reese, and the location where he might be found. Corporal Daniel Beaulieu was the next officer on scene and took command, summoning the Department's Criminal Investigation Division to respond. Saco paramedic David Hamel treated Ms. Garza at the scene, and learned from Ms. Garza that the weapon involved was a nine millimeter pistol.

As officers of the Saco Police Dept. were busy securing the crime scene on the Cascade Rd. and attempting to interview the victim at the Maine Medical Center, the Old Orchard Beach Police Department located Mr. Reese at the Seabreeze Motel in OOB. Upon arrival officers learned that Mr. Reese had locked himself out of his motel room while attempting to dispose of the personal property of Ms. Garza. Mr. Reese was taken into custody by officers and transported to Saco PD for booking at which time Mr. Reese provided information to Det. Corey Huntress that enabled Det. Frederick Williams to obtain search warrants for the room that Reese had locked himself out of, as well as the vehicle that he had been driving. These two search warrants produced evidence critical to this prosecution to include the firearm used, ammunition and many other items introduced as evidence at trial. A search of the vehicle used by Reese was conducted and only one shell casing was located in the vehicle which was troubling because Garza had been shot twice.

Officer returned to the scene of the Cascade Rd. the next day and began an extensive search of the area only to learn that Ms. Garza had run almost 100 yards from the location where she was shot. Additional evidence was collected, including 9 additional shell casings and bullet fragments from the side of the Cascade Rd. Det. Scott Rochefort and Cpl. Daniel Beaulieu played a critical role in the preparation of a forensic scale diagram using a Nikon Total Measuring Station that was later used at trial. All of the evidence at this complicated crime scene were collected and documented by Det. Paul Reynolds, who made numerous trips to the Maine State Police Crime Lab transporting evidence to be processed in the DNA and firearm labs.

This successful prosecution could not have been accomplished without the dedication of Assistant District Attorney Justina McGettigan of the York County District Attorney's Office. She spent countless hours preparing this case for prosecution with the primary investigator, Detective Corey Huntress. The two week jury trial held last month was a multi-media presentation that included the recorded telephone call from Mr. Hale to Saco PD; cruiser audio/video of Ptl. Moody talking with Ms. Garza while she was lying on the side of the Cascade Rd; enlarged forensic scale diagrams of the crime scene; satellite images of the Cascade Road and over 150 other exhibits used at trial to include photographs, a firearm, shell casings and other evidence that resulted in this successful prosecution.

This particular case, in spite of its horrific nature, is a perfect example of how increasingly complicated technology will continue to positively impact our ability to keep our community safe from harm. All calls to the police station are routinely recorded, and the recording of the original call was played in court, which allowed the jury to sense the immediacy of the threat and get a sense of what the motorist saw when he arrived. Officer Moody utilized the recording system in the cruiser that a grant paid for two years ago, enabling the State to obtain critical real-time testimony of the event as he interviewed the victim moments after the shooting. Detective collected evidence at the scene, much of which was submitted for DNA analysis to identify its relevance to the case. The scene was painstakingly recreated with the aid of the Nikon Total Station, the same laser-sighting device we use to document evidence at serious accidents.

This technology was aided by good, solid police work and a very competent prosecution effort put forth by the York County District Attorney's Office. This concerted effort makes Saco safer for everyone and ensures that Mr. Reese will spend a substantial portion of the rest of his life incarcerated.