State Attorney Ed Brodsky announced today that Jose Alfredo Gomez was convicted after jury trial of Manslaughter By Culpable Negligence With A Firearm and Aggravated Battery With Great Bodily Harm With A Firearm.  The crimes were committed on June 11, 2023 and investigated by the Palmetto Police Department in conjunction with the Manatee County Homicide Investigative Unit.  The trial was held at the Manatee County Judicial Center on July 28, 2025 through July 30, 2025.

The crimes carry a maximum possible sentence of Life in prison.

The minimum mandatory sentence is 25 years in state prison for the crime of Aggravated Battery with Great Bodily Harm with a Firearm pursuant to Florida’s 10-20-LIFE sentence enhancement statute.

Sentencing is scheduled for October 22, 2025 at 1:30 p.m.

The victim, Fernando Garcia-Nunez, was shot in the parking lot of The Hall night club in Palmetto as a graduation party was taking place inside. The victim intervened in an altercation that started when the defendant, Jose Gomez, slapped a female partygoer. The altercation ended with Gomez, who was on probation at the time, pulling a gun and firing a single shot into Fernando’s chest. Fernando later died at the hospital as a result.   

The lead prosecutor in the case, Assistant State Attorney Dickey Hough commented, “Gomez never should have been in possession of a gun in the first place, and then he committed this crime. It is our hope that his criminal behavior is punished severely and that the victim’s family receives justice for the death of their loved one.”

If you have any questions or would like further information, please contact Assistant State Attorney Dickey Hough in the Manatee County office at 941-941-747-3077.