FORMER NAPLES ATTORNEY IN FATAL CRASH INCHES CLOSER TO APPEAL

• Giselle Guzman was sentenced to four years in prison for leaving the scene of a crash involving death.
• The appeal centers on the argument that her daughter, who was in the car, should have been allowed to testify.
• Guzman claimed at trial she was distracted by a Christmas card and thought she had hit an animal.

Nearly two years after a Collier County jury convicted a former Naples attorney in the deadly hit-and-run of a bicyclist, her appeal is heading into oral arguments next month.

Giselle Guzman, 33, on Nov. 21, 2024, was sentenced to four years in prison for the December 2022 death of Alberto Martinez Gonzalez, 45. A Collier County jury convicted Guzman about three weeks earlier of one count of leaving the scene of a crash involving death.

Collier Circuit Judge Elizabeth Krier on Nov. 21 sentenced Guzman to four years in prison — which is the minimum for the charge, followed by 10 years of probation. Shortly after her conviction and sentence, Guzman appealed the case, saying her daughter, who was in the car at the time of the crash, should have been called as a witness.

Krier set a $100,000 bond for Guzman, allowing her release on bail while she appeals her conviction.

The oral arguments in her appeal are scheduled Sept. 17 in Orlando before Chief Judge Dan Traver and Judges John K. Stargel and Paetra T. Brownlee, all of Florida's Sixth District Court of Appeals.

Samantha Syoen, spokesperson for the State Attorney's Office for Florida's 20th Judicial Circuit — which includes Lee, Collier, Charlotte, Hendry and Glades counties — said Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier's office is handling the appeal.

Underage daughter at center of appeal

At Guzman's trial, Assistant State Attorneys Mara Marzano and James Stewart argued the minor who witnessed the crash could have received coaching from Guzman, who was a practicing attorney at the time.

According to a motion filed Oct. 23, 2024, by Day, ring video played in the courtroom that appeared to show Guzman talking to her daughter, acknowledging she hit someone, should have been excluded from trial.

Giselle Guzman said at trial Christmas card to blame

According to Guzman, she and other coworkers had began their holiday party at Fleming's around 1 p.m. Dec. 9, 2022, the day of the crash.

Guzman said she had two mojitos before she left the establishment around 5:45 p.m.

At her trial, Guzman said she drove to her office to work on a case for about 15 minutes before she picked her daughter up from her after-school program.

Guzman said the girl immediately wanted to show her mother a stack of Christmas cards and other items she collected that day.

According to Guzman, she was staring at a particular Christmas card when she struck Martinez, adding that, at first, she thought she hit "an animal."

Guzman testified that her daughter began to scream and cry, preventing her from stopping.

What led the FHP to Giselle Guzman?

The crash happened along 41st Street Southwest, near 22nd Avenue, in Naples, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.

The bicyclist, later identified as Martinez Gonzalez, died on scene.

Footage shown in court indicated Guzman's car experienced right-side hood and windshield damage, and what appeared to be body smudges, body fluids and skull fragments.

Security footage provided by a resident who lives along 41st Street Southwest showed Giselle Guzman was traveling along the street moments before the crash.

At the time of the crash, Guzman was an associate with Wicker Smith O'Hara McCoy & Ford in North Naples.

Guzman was terminated from Wicker Smith the day of her arrest, the law firm confirmed to the Naples Daily News, and soon after launched her own law firm, More Justice Law.

Following her conviction, the Florida Bar, which regulates the practice of law in Florida, suspended Guzman from practicing law in the state on March 20, 2025, pending the disciplinary proceeding.

Tomas Rodriguez is a Breaking/Live News Reporter for the Naples Daily News and The News-Press. You can reach Tomas at TRodriguez@usatodayco.com or 772-333-5501. Connect with him on Threads @tomasfrobeltran, Instagram @tomasfrobeltran, Facebook @tomasrodrigueznews and Bluesky @tomasfrodriguez.

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