DUI homicide verdict surprises prosecutors, judges

A jury says not guilty of vehicular homicide, but guilty of lesser driving charges in a verdict "a little out of left field."

By John Frank, Times Staff Writer
Published February 21, 2008

BROOKSVILLE - Friends Brian Gomes and Marc Collins were drinking the night of Dec. 3, 2005, when the car they were riding in hit a concrete culvert and flipped on Pickford Street, east of Landover Boulevard.

Collins, 23, died at the scene. That much is undisputed. The question at the heart of the DUI manslaughter case against Brian Gomes: Who was driving?

From the start, Gomes, 26, denied he was driving and investigators agreed until evidence reversed their thinking a year later.

On Wednesday, after deliberating for four hours, a jury decided Gomes was not guilty of vehicular homicide. They found him guilty, however, of the lesser offenses of misdemeanor driving under the influence and misdemeanor driving with a suspended license.

That decision surprised prosecutors and the judge, who called it "a little out of left field."

"This verdict is somewhat unique, and is not one I don't think anyone anticipated," Circuit Judge Jack Springstead said from the bench. The jury told us that they were "not satisfied that Gomes was driving the vehicle and the time of the accident and the demise of Mr. Colllins."

Springstead delayed sentencing until March 13 because he said he needed to adequately weigh the jury's thinking and review Gomes' driving history. Until then, he remains free on bond.

Both the Gomes and Collins families left the courtroom without comment.

Defense attorney Peyton Hyslop said the jury understood that the state wasn't able to convincingly put his client behind the wheel. But the two guilty verdicts on the misdemeanors "accurately reflects (Gomes') responsibility for partying a little too hard that night," he said.

The length of deliberations for the five women and one man on the panel demonstrated the complexities of the case. They broke about 2:30 p.m. and began talking over sandwiches from Red Mule. Court officials reported hearing heated discussions through the walls of the jury deliberation room.

The night in question began with two friends playing pool at Legends bar before they drove to see friends and partied at a topless bar in Pasco County. Earlier in the night, a deputy reported seeing Gomes behind the wheel.

At 3 a.m., Gomes and Collins were speeding down a winding road when the driver lost control. The Florida Highway Patrol initially believed Collins was behind the wheel, but his friend Caitlin Cartier said she was on the phone with Collins at the time of the crash. She testified that she heard Collins yell to someone, presumably Gomes, "Stop, dawg, stop."

Gomes' blood was also found near the driver's seat.

But Hyslop managed to pick apart problems with the circumstantial evidence enough to create doubt in jurors minds. He said Gomes could face a maximum eight months in jail or a minimum probation sentence on the two misdemeanor charges.

John Frank can be reached at jfrank@sptimes.com or (352) 754-6114.

[Last modified February 20, 2008, 20:57:53]