Man convicted of beating death in Victory Park sentenced to 10-30 years in prison
Brandon Gomez, convicted in the beating death of a homeless man in Victory Park in 2021, was sentenced last week to 10 to 30 years in prison.
MANCHESTER, NH – Brandon Gomez, convicted in the beating death of a homeless man in Victory Park in 2021, was sentenced last week to 10 to 30 years in prison.
Gomez, 37, was homeless himself on Sept. 30, 2021, and living at the Families in Transition shelter at 199 Manchester St. when he beat Brian Berlo, 57, to death.
On Jan. 19, 2023, a Hillsborough County Superior Court Northern District jury found Gomez guilty of manslaughter, negligent homicide and first-degree assault.
On Friday, he was sentenced on a reckless manslaughter conviction. He was given 12 to 30 years, with two years suspended off the minimum. Gomez also was credited with 658 days of pre-trial confinement, or about 1 year and 10 months, meaning he could be released in just over eight years.
According to court documents, Gomez repeatedly punched Berlo, knocking him to the ground, after first accusing Berlo of stealing his cell phone.
Berlo stood back up and told Gomez he didn’t know what he was talking about.
Gomez, a witness told police, punched him again in the face and Berlo fell over backward, hitting his head on the ground. Berlo, the witness said, began “snoring” and struggled to breathe.
As he was on the ground, a second man also named Brandon, kicked him three times, mainly in the shoulder area, she said.
That man, Brandon McNeil, 32, who also was homeless, was indicted on charges of manslaughter, accomplice to manslaughter, negligent homicide and second-degree assault.
Berlo was taken to the Elliot Hospital where medical staff said he suffered bleeding on the brain and abrasions to his right forearm, left side of his face, left eye and on his tailbone. His upper lip was split and he had a gash on the inside of his left cheek.
He died three days later. His cause of death was blunt head trauma, according to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant Hillsborough County Attorneys Shawn Sweeney and Elena Brander.
