Gunman admits 'showing' weapon

Wilson Palacio, left, is put under oath by Circuit Court Judge Robert Crigler, while being assisted by translator Edmee Dugan and public defender Michael Collins, as he enters a plea of guilty for his involvement in a January home invasion. (T-G Photo by Brian Mosely) [Order this photo]

The man who held three children at gunpoint during a January home invasion in Shelbyville pleaded guilty Monday, just days after his partner-in-crime was found guilty by a Bedford County jury.

Wilson Palacio will learn on Oct. 26 what his sentence will be after he admitted he was guilty of three counts of aggravated robbery and a single count of aggravated burglary.

Palacio 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.

His partner in the home invasion, Jose Gomez, was found guilty of his role in the crime last Thursday and also faces the same sentencing as Palacio.

Gomez and Palacio had entered a home on Riverview Drive in January while three children, who were home from school on a snow day, sat on a couch watching television.

As Palacio held a gun on the children, telling them not to be afraid, Gomez allegedly took jewelry off the victims and from throughout the home along with their cell phones and two video cameras.

The children were told to go into a bathroom and later told police they saw the pair leave in a small, older model green two-door car.

Investigators with the Shelbyville Police Department said that the mother of one of the children is an independent jewelry dealer and had sold merchandise to the wife of Gomez.

The wife had also worked with the victim's mother in Smyrna, and Gomez had also attended a party last year with his wife at the victim's home and was identified in a group photo taken at the gathering, according to police.

Palacio was arrested by a SWAT team in Nashville while Gomez was taken into custody by Smyrna authorities.

According to assistant district attorney Mike Randles, Palacio told investigators he received some money for the stolen jewelry from Gomez after he sold it at a Nashville pawn shop.

But while Palacio told investigators he did enter the home with Gomez, he claims he did not point the gun at the children, but rather "showed it to them," Randles said.