Published: Wednesday, Nov. 25, 2009

Updated: Wednesday, Nov. 25, 2009

Shooting cases go cold, police seek help

PALMETTO — A brutal killing and a fruitless investigation have frustration rising in the Palmetto Police Department a year later.

It will be a year Thursday since police found 36-year-old Miguel Hernandez-Gomez shot to death in the street, bleeding from a gunshot wound to the back suffered during an apparent robbery behind a Texaco gas station in the 700 block of Ninth Street West.

Pretty much everything else about Hernandez-Gomez, a migrant worker, and how he was killed is a mystery, according to Palmetto Police Lt. Scott Tyler.

“We are pretty much in the dark on this one,” said Tyler. “But we are confident that whoever did this has talked about it to someone, and we are urging the community to come forward with information.”

The lead investigator on the case for the police department, Detective Ryan LaRowe, said he and other detectives have spent hours upon hours combing Palmetto neighborhoods looking for information.

“We have knocked on every door all but begging, just short of getting on our knees for help,” he said.

The only thing police know is a couple of witnesses say at about 8:30 p.m. on Nov. 26, 2008, two men in a light-colored or white sedan pulled up to Hernandez-Gomez as he rode on a bicycle and confronted him. A struggle began and witnesses heard a gunshot, before the men left in the car.

“We think he defended himself, and may have wrestled with one of the suspect’s gun,” said Tyler.

To make matters more frustrating, detectives have been unable to find any of Hernandez-Gomez’s family members. They were only able to make an identification using federal immigration records.

Detectives found a few acquaintances of his who said he never really had a home, but stayed between a few friends’ houses for a few weeks at a time. Those who knew him never heard him talk of family or of his past, only knowing him as a hard worker.

“We have not been able to find out much about him,” said LaRowe. “It’s tragic because we know this is someone’s son, maybe brother or father.”

No arrests in robbery

Palmetto police are also seeking information on another case in which an elderly man was shot during a robbery of a Palmetto gun range.

Though the 70-year-old man survived after being shot below the neck in the Bullseye Pistol Range, in the 1000 block of 10th Street East, police said the shooting is one of the more cold-blooded acts investigators have seen.

“I look at it as pure evil,” LaRowe said. “This is an older man who complied with all of their demands, kept his hands up during the entire robbery, and one of the suspects turns around after they took everything they wanted and shot him.”

The attack took place at around 5:30 p.m. on Nov. 4, 2008, and is believed to have been committed by two men with bandannas covering their faces. They seemed to have had knowledge of the layout of the business.

“We think this was planned well in advance by suspects who had been in the building before,” Tyler said.

Investigators say the men barged into Bullseye and turned off the overhead lights in the business, with one suspect pointing a gun at the elderly clerk, while the second man ransacked the business stealing guns and other items.

At the end of the robbery, the men started to leave, but the gunman turned around and opened fire.

“This was an attempt to eliminate the one witness,” said Tyler.

Police believe the men fled on foot into the nearby Sylvan Oaks neighborhood, leading detectives to believe somebody saw them or talked to them after the robbery. But no one has come forward with information.

“These are people with no regard for human life, and they will become more bold and hurt someone else. We are sure of that,” said Tyler.

Anyone with information on either shooting can call Palmetto Police Detective Ryan LaRowe at (941) 723-4587, ext. 125, or Manatee Crimestoppers at (866) 634-TIPS.