By DEBRA HAIGHT
BCR Correspondent
ST. JOSEPH, MI – The Eau Claire man convicted of killing Eau Claire firefighter Chad Medlin in the fall of 2024 has been sentenced to prison. Meanwhile, a third person has been charged in connection with the incident.
Berrien County Assistant Prosecutor Kate Arnold reported that Rigoberto Gomez was sentenced last week by Berrien County Trial Court Judge Gary Bruce to a prison term of 52 years. He has credit for 469 days already served.
Gomez, 48, was convicted last November of second degree murder as well as one count each of assault with intent to do great bodily harm less than murder, assault with a dangerous weapon and possession of a firearm by a felon as well as four counts of use of a firearm in the commission of a felony.
Arnold reported that Gomez received a sentence of 50 years in prison for the second-degree murder conviction and an additional two years in prison for the use of a firearm in the commission of a felony. The sentences for the other charges will be served concurrently.
Another person was arrested in connection with the case last week shortly after Gomez was sentenced.
Pamela Darlene Scott, 45, also of Eau Claire, was arraigned in mid-January on charges of being an accessory after the fact and lying to police. Scott was Gomez’s wife and spoke to police officers after the incident when they were looking for Gomez.
Scott was scheduled for a preliminary hearing on the charges this week in Berrien County Trial Court at the Niles courthouse. Berrien County Trial Court Judge Gordon Hosbein had recused himself from the Gomez case by is hearing the new case against Scott.
The accessory after the fact charge is a five year felony while the lying to a police in a violent crime investigation is a 4 year felony.
As for the Gomez sentencing, Arnold said that Medlin’s mother as well as his daughter spoke at the sentencing.
The November trial included testimony from over two dozen witnesses for the prosecution. Gomez was the only person to testify for the defense and claimed his actions were self defense. According to published reports, he plans to appeal the verdict.
The incident occurred shortly after midnight on Nov. 2, 2024 when Berrien County Sheriff’s Deputies were called to downtown Eau Claire on reports of a shooting outside the Hometown Bar near the intersection of Main and Elm Streets in the village.
Complaint and warrant information in the court file indicated that witnesses said the altercation began inside a bar in Eau Claire with Medlin and Gomez trading words. Medlin and the group with him went out the back of the building and Gomez went out the front.
While Medlin and others were still talking in the back, Gomez reappeared at the front of the building and began yelling for Medlin. Medlin walked toward him and continued to argue.
A woman tried to step between the two to calm them down and asked Gomez to put away his gun. At some point, Gomez had a clear shot of Medlin, pointed the gun at him and fired one shot, striking Medlin in the chest. Medlin fell to the ground and Gomez fled.
Gomez was later arrested without incident at a Coloma Township home. Elizabeth Harper of Stevensville had picked Gomez up after the incident and taken him to the Coloma Township home of her mother. She admitted to police that she had taken Gomez’s guns and thrown them away. Those weapons were later recovered by police.
Harper was sentenced earlier last year after pleading guilty to tampering with evidence to two years probation, 180 days in jail with credit for 84 days served, 100 hours community service and $678 in fines and costs.