Former New York State Trooper Christopher Baldner was sentenced June 2 to 2 1/2 to 7 1/2 years in state prison after he was previously found guilty of causing the death of 11-year-old Monica Goods on the New York State Thruway.
New York State Attorney General Letitia James, whose office prosecuted the case in Ulster County Court, announced Baldner’s sentence.
A jury found Baldner guilty of second-degree manslaughter, a felony, on March 13. The maximum sentence for the charge would have been 15 years in prison.
According to James, at approximately 11:40 p.m. on Dec. 22, 2020, Goods’ father, Tristan Goods, was driving north on the Thruway with his wife and two daughters as passengers. They were on their way home for Christmas.
Baldner, who was on patrol in his marked state police vehicle, stopped the Goods family car for speeding near mile marker 92 in Ulster County.
During the stop, Baldner deployed pepper spray into the interior of the car. Tristan Goods then sped away from the scene, with Baldner in pursuit.
Twice during the pursuit, Baldner rammed his police vehicle into the rear of the Goods family’s car.
The second strike caused the car to skid into the center guard rail, flip over, and come to rest upside down. The impact ejected Monica Goods from the car, causing her death.
Baldner was acquitted of murder and reckless endangerment charges in his first trial in November 2025. But the jury deadlocked on the manslaughter charge, and a second trial on that charge took place in March.
Baldner’s attorney, John Ingrassia, could not immediately be reached for comment.
Mike Randall covers breaking news for the Times Herald-Record and the Poughkeepsie Journal. Reach him at mrandall@th-record.com.
This article originally appeared on Times Herald-Record: Former state trooper sentenced for manslaughter in Monica Goods’ death
Reporting by Mike Randall, Middletown Times Herald- Record / Times Herald-Record
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