Palmetto Man Convicted of Manslaughter in Graduation Party Shooting

This week, Jose Alfredo Gomez was convicted 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 were investigated by the Palmetto Police Department in conjunction with the Manatee County Homicide Investigative Unit.

The victim, Fernando Garcia-Nunez, was shot in the parking lot of The Hall nightclub 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.  

“Gomez never should have been in possession of a gun in the first place, and then he committed this crime," said Assistant State Attorney Dickey Hough, lead prosecutor in the case. "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.” 

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.