Not Guilty Plea From Hit And Run Driver

SPOKANE VALLEY — The man accused of a hit and run that killed a Spokane Valley teenager in November pleaded not guilty in court Tuesday.

Fourteen-year-old Rickie Gomez was walking along Flora and Cataldo in Spokane Valley when he was struck by a Jeep Cherokee. The driver, later identified as 26-year-old Miles Horn, fled the scene. In court he pleaded not guilty to the hit and run.

Detectives say Horn and his girlfriend were driving a red Jeep Cherokee in November when they hit Gomez and then took off. Detectives say a surveillance tape from a nearby convenience store showed him driving that vehicle the night of the crash and an anonymous tip eventually led police to Horn’s arrest.

In court Tuesday Suzanne Nichols, Rickie Gomez’s mom, wasn’t surprised by Horn’s plea because Horn reportedly left the scene of the collision and didn’t take responsibility then and after his subsequent arrest.

Nichols sat shaking in the courtroom Tuesday afternoon and said that every day is still a nightmare. She was even more disturbed to see no remorse on Horn’s face during his court appearance.

“I keep wondering how does he sleep, how does she … she’s a mother and pregnant,” Nichols said.

Horn’s girlfriend, Miranda Dumarce is charged with 2nd Degree Rendering Criminal Assistance.

Nichols said she’ll be back in court when Horn’s trial starts next month.