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Turlock man prison bound for heroin, gun possession
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A Turlock man is headed to prison for selling heroin and possession of a firearm, reported the Stanislaus County District Attorney’s Office.

Brian Joseph Gomes, 41, was convicted and sentenced on Dec. 16, to eight years in state prison for possessing heroin for sale and possessing a controlled substance while in possession of a firearm. Gomes conviction stems from his arrest in July and a subsequent search of his residence.

On July 22, Gomes was stopped by a Turlock police officer for a traffic violation. Because Gomes was on parole he and his vehicle were both searched by law enforcement. The officer located a hidden storage compartment containing a black zippered bag holding a loaded 9mm pistol and several baggies of methamphetamine, according to the district attorney’s office.

Given the evidence found in Gomes’ vehicle, law enforcement conducted further investigation into his activities. On July 30, the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Department served a search warrant at his Turlock residence and found packaging material consistent with drug sales. Gomes was taken into custody at the home after deputies found him hiding in the attic.

Gomes had a prior conviction from 2010 for manufacturing methamphetamine, negligent discharge of a firearm and assault likely to cause great bodily injury. The assault charge came from when a Ceres police officer attempted to stop Gomes and Gomes accelerated and caused a minor collision between his vehicle and that of the officer’s. In 2010, Gomes was sentenced to 10 years in state prison.

The conviction for negligent discharge of a firearm came from February 2010, in which Gomes shot a semi-automatic handgun in the direction of an apartment complex in the 900 block of W. Zeering Road. The conviction counted as a strike under California’s Three Strikes Law and used against Gomes in his most recent conviction to double his prison sentence.