A federal jury in Little Rock began hearing testimony Monday in the trial of a former Arkansas man accused of using jiujitsu maneuvers, which he teaches, on airmen during a Dec. 31, 2016, brawl on the U.S. Air Force base in Misawa, Japan, where his wife, Air Force Maj. Eloise Gomez, was stationed.
Rodrigo Pineda Gomez, 44, who has since moved with his family to Colorado, his wife's most recent assignment, is charged with one count of attempted voluntary manslaughter, which accuses him of trying to snap a young airman's neck and then pummeling him in the face and stomping on his head, all in an effort to kill him. The charge doesn't allege premeditation but says his actions occurred upon a sudden quarrel, during the heat of passion.
Gomez is also accused of assault with a dangerous weapon, his shod foot, meaning encased in a shoe; three counts of misdemeanor assault by striking, beating or wounding; one count of resisting a federal officer; and one count of making a false statement to law enforcement.
In September, Gomez's son, Miguel Gomez, 21, was added to the indictment, which was filed in the Eastern District of Arkansas because it was the family's last known stateside address when the incident occurred. However, the younger Gomez pleaded guilty Friday to a charge of assault by striking, beating or wounding, in exchange for a second charge of resisting arrest being dismissed.
In opening statements Monday, trial attorney Frank G. Rangoussis of the Department of Justice told jurors that they would see, via a video recorded at Cafe Mokuteki, that the senior Gomez started the fight by reacting violently to a comment from one of four airmen sitting in a booth. Gomez had been walking past the booth, talking on his cellphone, and stumbled into the booth, prompting Airman Souleyman Dia to ask Gomez why he was so close to their booth.
Airman Broderick Richmond testified that Gomez replied by asking them if they "had a problem with it." Richmond said he was eating chicken wings, and Gomez was "really close, like over my shoulder," so he asked Gomez to "scoot back."
It was about 2 a.m., and the airmen and the Gomezes had all returned to the base after spending the evening out drinking with friends at off-base bars.
Richmond said Gomez then slapped him on the back of the head, hitting his backwards-facing baseball cap and, according to prosecutors, starting the fight.
But defense attorney Molly Sullivan said Gomez only used his "open hand," and pointed out on the video that Richmond then jumped up and punched Gomez, as Dia also exited the booth.
"That was you throwing the first punch?" she asked Richmond.
He agreed, but quickly added, "After I was hit in the back of the head."
Richmond said that both Dia and Gomez's son moved toward the men to try to de-escalate the fight, but Gomez then punched Dia in the face, causing him to stumble backward.
As the fight between the Gomezes and Richmond moved to the back of the restaurant, mostly out of view of the camera, Rangoussis said Dia was too dazed by the punch to move.
WIFE, DAUGHTER ARRIVE
Rangoussis and Sullivan agreed that "Round One" was broken up by other customers in the cafe, and that the airmen and the Gomez men then exchanged a "group hug."
But "Round Two" began shortly after Maj. Gomez and her teenage daughter entered the restaurant, in response to the elder Gomez's phone call. Rangoussis described her "as throwing her rank around," while Airman Timothy Houston, who had also been sitting at the booth, testified that "she called me and Airman [Avion] Scaife dumb-asses" and only identified herself by telling them, "I'm a motherf*g major."
Richmond testified that the major eyed the broken furniture and asked what had happened, so he told her "that Mr. Gomez punched my friend." He said Gomez reacted "by punching me."
Richmond said he struck back, but he denied missing the side-stepping Gomez and punching the major instead. The video shows him moments later shoving the woman out of his way as he tried to get past her and her daughter to help Dia, who was then lying on the floor, held in what Rangoussis called a "leg lock" by the younger Gomez, who also teaches martial arts.
In the corner of the video, the senior Gomez can be seen standing behind Dia, who lay immobile and face-up on the floor. The senior Gomez then uses both his hands to turn Dia's neck to the side. The senior Gomez is then seen punching Dia in the face. Richmond testified that Houston intervened and pulled Gomez back as the senior jiujitsu master stomped on Dia's head.
Security forces are then seen entering the restaurant as, according to Richmond, the elder Gomez "is yelling that I punched his wife in the face and he's gonna kill me."
Jurors next heard from Master Sgt. Bruce Rick of the air base's security forces. He described entering the cafe at 2:20 a.m. in response to a 911 call about a fight and seeing Gomez, whom he recognized as his son's mixed martial arts instructor. He said Dia, sitting back in the booth, couldn't keep his head up without assistance. He said he saw Gomez, who was "very angry," slap Scaife, who did nothing to prompt the slap. He said he also heard Gomez say loudly, over and over, "He hit my wife," and then, to his son, "He hit your mother."
The video shows the younger Gomez then running after Richmond, whom his father was referring to, as other security forces entered the cafe and tried to separate the men.
Rick testified that he and another officer held onto the senior Gomez, who elbowed him in an effort to get free while yelling toward Richmond, "I'm gonna mess you up. I'm gonna kill that f****t."
"We had to handcuff him to a gurney," Rick testified, saying that Gomez was very strong. He said Gomez also had a gash over his right eye and was taken to a medical clinic for treatment.
A photograph of Dia taken that night also showed blood over his left eyelid and the bridge of his nose. Rick testified that "he kept trying to fall asleep, and we kept telling him to stay awake."
Dia himself testified, but said he couldn't remember much about that night after Gomez punched him. He said the injuries he suffered that night have affected his memory and left him with migraines and a foggy mind, which affects his job performance.
The trial resumes at 9 a.m. today in the courtroom of U.S. District Judge James Moody Jr.
Metro on 04/23/2019