Ex-New York State trooper was sentenced to 2.5 to 7.5 years in prison in Ulster County Court on Tuesday in the ramming death of an 11-year-old girl. After a high-speed chase on the Thruway in December of 2020, Christopher Baldner used his police car to ram a car occupied by the Goods family at over 100 mph, resulting in the death of Monica Goods.
WAMC’s Elias Guerra and Lucas Willard discussed the details of the sentencing on Tuesday.
Willard: Hi, Elias.
Guerra: Hi, Lucas.
Willard: Can you start by reminding us of the facts of the case?
Guerra: So in 2020, then-Trooper Christopher Baldner pulled over Tristan Goods, who was driving over 100 miles per hour on the New York State Thruway near Kingston. According to the defense, Tristan Goods refused to show his ID. At that point, Baldner used pepper spray on Tristan Goods, which prosecutors said escalated the initial incident. Goods then drove off.
Baldner followed the vehicle driving over 100 miles per hour, then twice rammed Goods vehicle, which was also carrying Goods’ wife and two daughters. The second hit at 130 miles per hour caused it to flip over and land on a guard rail, killing 11-year old Monica Goods.
At the initial trial in November, Baldner was found not guilty of murder but the jury was hung on the charge of manslaughter – leading to the retrial earlier this year. Baldner was convicted on the manslaughter charge at the conclusion of the second trial on March 13.
Willard: Many of Monica Good’s family members read impact statements today, including her mom, Michelle Surrency. What did they say?
Guerra: Michelle Surrency said Monica loved basketball, singing, the colors red and white, and cuddling her kittens at night. She said Monica’s enthusiasm for life was infectious, and now she is scared for her surviving children every day.
She asked Judge Bryan Rounds to impose the maximum prison sentence, which is up to 15 years, to give some semblance of justice for Monica and to serve as a deterrent for others.
Monica’s sister, Tristina Goods, who was also in the vehicle with her sister, also spoke. She said about Monica, “She was deeply loved and deserved so much more from life. I hope you [Baldner] truly understand the damage your actions caused and the lives that were destroyed because of them. Monica deserved better. Our family deserved better.”
Willard: And what was the defense’s response?
Guerra: Defense attorney Anthony Ricco spoke at length, but a lot of it was not about Chris Baldner. Instead, he focused, as he has throughout this case, on the actions of Tristan Goods.
He said that Baldner had faced accountability but Tristan Goods never has. He said Tristan could have avoided the whole situation by handing over his ID when Baldner first pulled him over.
Ricco also spoke about the loss of his own sister at a young age and how his mom passed away with that grief.
He also spoke about comments that people outside of the courthouse made earlier in the trial, calling him the n-word and said ‘Thank God’ that Baldner’s lawyers, meaning himself, are above name calling and that Ricco intended to do his job.
He also appealed to Judge Rounds to consider Baldner’s 18-year service as a New York State Trooper, saying “how do you discount his service? How do you give him the maximum for stopping a man driving over 100 miles per hour with children in the back?”
Willard: While all of this was going on inside the courtroom, protesters gathered outside. Can you tell us how the morning started outside the courthouse?
Guerra: Yeah. So, court officers told protestors who were calling for justice for Monica Goods they could not be right in front of the courthouse. One protestor, Anne Ames, said that a recording that contradicted Baldner’s account that Tristan Goods had rammed him, took years to come out.
“All of this comes out four years later, all this stuff, and that's the thing with police violence and police murders, is that we never get all of the information, even though it's there," Ames said.
Willard: And what did the judge have to say when he finally delivered his sentence?
Guerra: So, before the judge delivered the sentence he spoke for two hours.
He talked the importance of not deciding if someone, meaning Baldner, was guilty before a trial and he cried as he said it was “abhorrent. What have we become?”
He sort of made fun of slogans like “no justice, no peace. No racist police.” He talked about the genius of the founding fathers to create a system of checks-and-balances.
He said it was a terrible loss that Monica Goods was gone but no one should be using her name for calls of justice besides the family. At one point he screamed “You didn’t know her!” regarding the protestors outside the courthouse.
And then following the defense’s lead he turned his attention to Tristan Goods. He pointed out that Monica’s last words were not yelling at Baldner, but telling her father “Daddy stop,” over and over before Baldner rammed the car.
He finally delivered his verdict after a lot of explanation and said he landed in the middle of what was possible, giving Baldner 2.5 to 7.5 years in prison.
And he said, he had given Baldner half of the possible maximum because “only half of justice has been served today,” again referring to his opinion on Tristan Goods’ guilt and his role in the death of Monica Goods.
Willard: That was WAMC’ Lower Hudson Valley Bureau Chief, Elias Guerra. Thanks for being here
Guerra: Thanks for having me
