On Sept. 22, Lehigh County District Attorney Gavin P. Holihan announced a Palmerton woman had pleaded guilty to a 2024 homicide in Whitehall Township.

Brenda Rodriguez, 52, pleaded guilty before Judge Robert L. Steinberg to a felony charge of conspiracy-aggravated assault.

Rodriguez is the wife of the victim, Hector Garcia Gomez, who was shot and killed shortly after 6 p.m. Dec. 7, 2024, in the parking lot of Loco Hot Deals at 1155 MacArthur Road. Officers found Garcia Gomez with multiple gunshot wounds to his abdomen, and he later succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead.

Garcia Gomez, 46, of Palmerton, died of multiple gunshot wounds, and his death was ruled a homicide by the Lehigh County coroner.

Video surveillance showed Garcia Gomez’s vehicle arrive in the parking lot, and while he was inside the store, Rodriguez stayed inside the car and appeared to be on her phone.

The investigation revealed Rodriguez was providing information via cellphone detailing her husband’s location to Liz Marie Pacheco. Pacheco then relayed the location to Christian Martinez-Ramos, who arrived minutes later to the parking lot.

The investigation showed that, as Garcia Gomez left the store and began to get inside his car, Martinez-Ramos drove his vehicle through the parking lot and parked behind Garcia Gomez. Gunshots were fired at Garcia Gomez from the Martinez-Ramos vehicle, striking Garcia Gomez multiple times.

After Garcia Gomez was shot, video surveillance showed Rodriguez remained inside the car for more than 22 seconds. Rodriguez eventually got out of the car, adjusted her clothing and hair and picked up several items before slowly walking into the store.

Both Pacheco and Martinez-Ramos are awaiting trial on charges relating to this homicide.

Rodriguez will be sentenced 9:30 a.m. Nov. 5. She could face a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. Her remaining charges will be withdrawn as part of the plea deal.

This case was investigated by Whitehall Township Police Detective Lindsay Yetter and Lehigh County Homicide Task Force Detectives Timothy Salgado, James Bruchak and Amaury Almonte and is prosecuted by Senior Deputy District Attorney James A. Augustine.