Rowan County man convicted of voluntary manslaughter after crash victim found shot, killed

ROWAN COUNTY, N.C. — A Rowan County man has been found guilty of voluntary manslaughter after a crash victim was found to have been shot to death.

Rene Oscar Gomez Jr. was sentenced to prison for the 2021 homicide of Edward Geouge III in Rowan County.

Gomez had been held at the Rowan County Jail since his arrest for murder on June 15, 2021. The investigation into Geouge’s death began on June 9, 2021, when the N.C. Highway Patrol responded to a single-vehicle crash on Saw Road.

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Initially, officials said it appeared that Geouge died from the crash, but further investigation revealed he had been killed by a gunshot wound. Detectives from the Rowan County Sheriff’s Office took over the investigation after this discovery.

Gomez pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter as part of a plea deal with the Rowan County District Attorney’s Office. He was sentenced on Wednesday to a minimum of 94 months and a maximum of 125 months in the Department of Adult Correction.

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