Gomez found guilty of robbing children at gunpoint

A jury swiftly found a Smyrna man guilty Thursday after three Shelbyville children testified about the men who robbed them at gunpoint during a home invasion earlier this year.

It took less than 30 minutes for the jury to convict José Gomez on a single count of aggravated burglary and three counts of aggravated robbery.

Gomez and Wilson Palacio, also of Smyrna, were both indicted during the March session of the Bedford County grand jury on the charges in connection with a home invasion on Riverview Drive. Palacio is facing a trial date of Oct. 2 and will appear Monday in Bedford County Circuit Court.

Gomez will be sentenced on Oct. 26 and could face as much as eight to 12 years with no probation on the robbery charges and from three to six years on the burglary count.

Assistant District Attorney Richard Cawley said the children were home from school for a snow day on Jan. 20 and were watching the Presidential Inauguration when the home invasion and robbery occurred.

But defense attorney Hershel Koger told the jury that Gomez did go to the home with Palacio, but only to introduce Palacio to the father in order to get a job. Koger said that Palacio took it upon himself to commit the robbery.

Gold jewelry, two cell phones, two video cameras and a pellet gun were taken during the daylight home invasion.

First on the stand was Shelbyville Detective Carol Jean, who interviewed the children after the robbery, describing them as very upset and crying. However, when Jean checked in with the teen girl to see how she was doing several days later, the teen identified Gomez as the husband of a woman that her mother worked with and who had also attended a birthday party at the victim's home one month prior to the robbery.

Several days after the robbery, the girl also recognized the getaway vehicle parked at her mother's place of work, took photos of the license plate and passed them along to police, the detective said. Using the tag numbers, police were able to eventually find Palacio and Gomez, Jean testified.

The teenager took the stand next, relating to the jury what happened that day. The girl, who was 14 at the time, testified she had been expecting a shipment of books, but when the door bell rang, it was Palacio instead.

At first, Palacio asked if her father was home, but then pulled a gun on the girl and forced her inside to join her brothers, ages 9 and 6 at the time.

Gomez then entered the home, but tried to hide his face, the girl testified.

As Palacio held the children at gunpoint, Gomez searched the home taking items from various bedrooms while Palacio repeatedly asked the kids where the jewelry was, the girl said. She said that she recognized Gomez but did not know his name at the time.

Palacio also took jewelry off the children, the girl told the jurors. After the robbery was over, Palacio told the children to go to the bathroom, but the girl said she looked out a window and saw the getaway vehicle leave.

The girl also testified how she helped Jean identify Gomez as the man who had been at her house at the birthday party from photos her parents took at the gathering. She also identified some of the recovered jewelry as items worn the day of the robbery.

Also taking the stand was the girl's 10-year-old brother, who told the jury he was playing his Game Boy when Palacio entered the home brandishing the weapon.

The boy also identified Gomez as being the man who went through the various rooms of the house. He identified pieces of jewelry taken from him that day as well.

The 7-year-old boy took the stand as well, but appeared nervous and couldn't describe what happened during the robbery. However, the youngster was able to identify several pieces of jewelry that were taken during the home invasion, saying they were stolen.

The children's mother testified to the value to the items taken during the robbery, adding that Gomez's wife worked with her and knew that she sold jewelry.

Sgt. Bill Logue of the Shelbyville Police Department testified about searching the getaway car in Smyrna, which belonged to Palacio's girlfriend, and discovering a .22 caliber semi-automatic pistol in the vehicle, as well as finding the video cameras and one of the cell phones at Palacio's mother's residence.

The bulk of the stolen items were later recovered from a Davidson County pawn shop, Logue testified.

Detective Brian Crews gave testimony about his investigation into the home invasion and robbery, identifying Gomez as one of the men who entered the home.

He also told the jury about questioning Gomez after his arrest, who first said he had only been at the house during the party, but later admitted that he entered the home with Palacio on Jan. 20.

Crews said that Gomez denied taking jewelry from the home and said he had been there to get employment for Palacio. Gomez also told investigators he would pay for the items that he said he did not take, Crews testified.

Palacio was later taken into custody by a Metro Nashville SWAT team.

Assistant District Attorney Mike Randles said in his closing argument that the children may not remember Jan. 20 as Barack Obama's first day in office, but they would remember being robbed at gunpoint in their own home. Randles detailed the detective work that came from the children's memory of the robbery to find Gomez and Palacio.

While Gomez didn't hold the gun, he was a full participant in the robbery, Randles argued, and the theft would never have happened if Gomez had not been in the home before and knew that jewelry was kept there.

Koger said there were unanswered questions in the case, such as details on how the stolen jewelry was located and linked to Gomez. The defense attorney also attempted to raise doubt about Gomez's role in the Jan. 20 incident, saying Palacio held the gun and gave the orders to the children.

But Cawley rebutted that argument, saying that Gomez could have stopped Palacio from committing the robbery once inside the home but instead searched the house for the items.

Jury selection in the case lasted all morning until early afternoon, with prospective members questioned if they or members of their families had been victims of a crime. Several were disqualified due to opinions formed after reading accounts of the case in the T-G.