Search not legal, judge rules; gun charges dropped

Prosecutors dropped gun charges last week against a 55-year-old Little Rock man after a Pulaski County Circuit judge’s ruling that police exceeded their authority by seizing the weapons without a warrant

Val Anthony Gomez, also known as Valintino Anthony Gomez, was looking at a potential 40-year prison sentence for the two guns Little Rock police found in his car following a late afternoon traffic stop on Nov. 26, 2022, at his home at 3701 Potter St.

Gomez had been stopped for driving with no license plate on his Dodge Dart, and police then discovered Gomez’ driver’s license had been suspended. Gomez was arrested but twice declined police requests to search his car.

Officers decided they had authority under department impound policy to tow the vehicle, a determination that required them to search the Dodge to inventory its contents before the Dodge was taken away.

The resulting search turned up one pistol in the center console and the second in the glove box, along with a pair of metal knuckles, with police arresting Gomez on two counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm, each a Class B felony count that carries up to 20 years in prison. He spent two days in jail before posting $7,500 bond.

Defense attorney Jim Wyatt challenged the legality of the search, arguing that Gomez’ car was entitled to the same constitutional protections his home has because his Dodge was in his driveway — property known as curtilage that the law considers part of a residence — when police seized the vehicle and went through its contents.

Such a search required a warrant, and without one, the search should be deemed illegal and the evidence seized — the pistols — should be suppressed, Wyatt argued.

Circuit Judge Karen Whatley agreed with Wyatt in a three-page ruling.

“Little Rock impound policy cannot trump the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution of the United States,” Whatley said in announcing her decision.

Records don’t show how Gomez came to be a felon. His most recent felony conviction in Pulaski County came in June 1999 when he pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm and misdemeanor driving while intoxicated following an August 1998 arrest in Boyle Park with a pistol.

In March 2015, police investigating a complaint about shots fired in the 2700 block of Quebec Street found Gomez in Boyle Park after closing time with a white 1996 Dodge 1500 pickup that did not have a license plate. A pistol was found under the driver’s seat. Gomez was arrested for the gun, and he told police the truck and the weapon belonged to a neighbor. The charges were dropped after another person came forward to assert ownership of the gun, court records show.

In March 2021, Gomez, under the name Gomez Gomez, was sentenced to two years on probation for a felony prescription drug offense in Lonoke County.