Valley Man To Plead Guilty For Fatal Hit And Run

SPOKANE — A Spokane Valley man suspected of a fatal hit and run crash is ready to plead guilty.

Ricky Gomez was 14-years-old when he was killed last November as he walked along Flora Road in Spokane Valley and now Miles Horn is ready to plead guilty for hitting and killing Gomez. He will be sentenced Wednesday and will receive anywhere from two to three years in prison.

Gomez was out walking with friends two days after Thanksgiving when a speeding car slammed into the teen dislodging his brain stem. The vehicle was traveling north on Flora Road and never stopped. Gomez’s mother begged the driver to come forward.

“How can they sleep at night knowing my little boy is gone,” said Suzanne Nichols, Gomez’s mother.

Detectives collected debris from the hit and run car including the lens of a turn indicator and Auto parts experts felt Gomez had been hit by a Jeep Cherokee.

“We became confident that we were looking for a red jeep somewhere in the model range,” Spokane County Sheriff’s Office Spokesman Sergeant Dave Reagan said.

An anonymous tip led Spokane Valley Police to the home where the damaged car was recovered. It had damage to the right front which was consistent with what would be expected on a vehicle that had struck a heavy object.

However police were still not able to put Miles Horn behind the wheel of the hit and run car until surveillance video from a nearby convenience store caught Horn inspecting damage to his car moments after the crash. Horn was apparently more concerned about the condition of the Jeep than his victim and the security recording is one reason Horn didn’t want his case in front of a jury.

“The person didn’t hit a dog or a deer, they hit a little boy,” Nichols said.

Horn is scheduled to plead guilty and be sentenced at the courthouse Wednesday afternoon and will have to face Ricky Gomez’s mother Suzanne at his sentencing. He will receive credit for the half year in jail that he has already served.