Gomez v. State, 300 Ga. 571

On July 22, 2013, Gilberto Gomez and an accomplice, Sergio Reyes Alvear, approached siblings Samaria Diaz and 13‑year‑old Steven Galindo during an attempted car hijacking; Gomez, armed with a shotgun, shot and killed Galindo.
Gomez made inculpatory statements after arrest. Diaz was an eyewitness; Alvear’s face had been covered and he was expected to testify against Gomez.
A Clayton County grand jury charged Gomez with multiple counts, including malice murder, several felony murders, armed robbery, aggravated assault, GSGTPA violations, hijacking, and multiple firearm counts.
On the eve of trial, after plea counsel told Gomez Alvear would likely testify, Gomez accepted a negotiated plea to malice murder, one armed robbery count, and one GSGTPA violation; remaining counts were nolle prossed.
Gomez was sentenced to life with parole eligibility plus consecutive terms (total argued by appellant to require 42–45 years before parole eligibility); a month later he moved to withdraw his plea claiming ineffective assistance because counsel misadvised parole‑eligibility timing.
The trial court denied the motion; the Georgia Supreme Court affirmed, finding Gomez failed to show prejudice under Strickland and the court could credit counsel’s testimony over Gomez’s.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether plea counsel’s alleged incorrect advice about parole eligibility renders counsel constitutionally ineffective and warrants withdrawal of plea	Gomez: counsel told him he would serve only ~22–25 years (or 30 years “or so” at most); had he known parole eligibility would be 42–45 years, he would have rejected the plea and gone to trial	State: counsel testified he told Gomez "30 years or so" meaning parole eligibility after ~30 years, warned parole depends on board and inmate behavior, and counsel avoided precise promises; the record shows Gomez faced life w/o parole and more charges at trial	Denied — Gomez failed to show prejudice under Strickland; court credited counsel’s testimony and other trial risks supported the plea decision

Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (established two‑prong ineffective assistance test)
Pruitt v. State, 282 Ga. 30 (describing Strickland application to guilty‑plea withdrawal)
Alexander v. State, 297 Ga. 59 (application of Strickland in plea withdrawal context)
Francis v. State, 296 Ga. 190 (trial court credibility findings on post‑plea hearings entitled to deference)
Jones v. State, 287 Ga. 270 (trial court may credit counsel’s testimony over defendant’s at plea withdrawal hearing)
Wright v. State, 291 Ga. 869 (if one Strickland prong is not met, court need not address the other)