Gomes to face judge for DUI sentencing

Convicted on lesser charges, he faces the judge on Thursday.

By John Frank, Times Staff Writer
Published March 12, 2008

BROOKSVILLE - Brian Gomes returns to a familiar place Thursday: the courtroom. And depending on a decision by Circuit Judge Jack Springstead, he could visit another familiar haunt: jail.

The judge is scheduled to sentence the 26-year-old Spring Hill man on charges of misdemeanor driving under the influence and driving with a suspended license.

A jury found Gomes guilty of those two lesser charges Feb. 20 but spared him the worst by finding him not guilty of DUI manslaughter in the death of his friend Marc Collins.

The surprise verdict caught the judge and prosecutors completely off guard. And now some legal maneuvering could keep Gomes from getting the tough punishment Collins' relatives are demanding.

A lengthy record

In considering a sentence, the judge can take into account the defendant's criminal history and driving record. For Gomes, it's lengthy, according to court records.

In 1998, at age 17, he hit a sheriff's deputy with a vehicle and fled arrest. Charged as an adult with battery on a law enforcement officer, aggravated fleeing and eluding, resisting arrest and driving on a suspended license, he faced 11 years in prison. Eight months later, he pleaded guilty and Springstead gave him three months in jail and three years probation under a plea deal with prosecutors, records show.

Two years later, Gomes was back in court for his first DUI arrest. His probation was revoked and he received eight months in county jail.

The next year, another DUI conviction. Then-Hernando County Judge Peyton Hyslop, now Gomes' attorney, gave him 10 days in county jail to be served on weekends, one year probation and revoked his driver's license for five years.

Gomes kept driving despite his suspended license and tallied his third drunk driving arrest in 2004. He was fleeing a deputy while riding a motorcycle at 3:35 a.m. on State Road 50 when he crashed near Stevenson Road, according to reports. His blood alcohol level was 0.177, more than double the legal limit. Springstead gave him one month in jail and two years' probation.

Gomes violated probation soon after getting out. In 2006, Gomes received another eight months in county jail for the violation.

In between those two jail stays, the accident that killed Collins took place in Spring Hill on Pickford Street, east of Landover Boulevard. The two were riding in Gomes' mother's SUV when the driver lost control and flipped the vehicle.

The driver that night is in dispute. Authorities initially thought it was Collins but changed their minds a year later after analyzing the evidence. Jurors weren't convinced. The verdict establishes that they don't believe Gomes was driving at the time of the crash, even though they found he was driving earlier in the night.

Probation possible

All his criminal history comes into play at the sentencing hearing. But Gomes' attorney said his client will be charged only as a first-time offender because of the way the jury ruled. The minimum punishment is probation and the maximum is eight months in county jail.

"The judge can take Gomes' history into account but he still can't give more than the maximum," Hyslop said.

Typically Gomes' record would allow the judge to "enhance" the sentence, or make it tougher. But Assistant State Attorney Bill Catto failed to include the necessary legal language for that to happen. And the judge previously indicated in court he was reluctant to deviate without that legal language in the charging documents.

Catto still believes he can legally push for a stiffer sentence. He argues that Gomes could face a year in county jail on the DUI charge.

"I'm asking for the maximum amount of jail time we can get because ... his record is being a menace on the road," Catto said.

Ralph Tully, Collins' grandfather, still can't believe the jury's decision. He wants Gomes to get the toughest punishment possible, especially because of his background.

"I would like to see the judge step up and override the verdict," he said. "But that won't happen."

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

[Last modified March 11, 2008, 20:39:37]