LYNN — Brian Gomez had plans for April 11, 2022. Big ones. The 20-year-old Salem native and aspiring musician had scored something most artists his age would kill for — a performance slot in front of A&R executives in New York City. The kind of moment that changes everything.

He never got on stage. He never even got on the road.

Hours before his big break, Gomez went to a meetup party behind Lynn English High School. It was just after midnight. Alan Bernadin and Nathaniel Mercedat — both 19 at the time, both from Lynn, both apparently carrying firearms to a party like that's a normal thing to do — were also in attendance.

What happened next required two guns and four bullets.

Gomez was rushed to Salem Hospital. He was pronounced dead. His showcase in New York went on without him. Or rather, it didn't.

Fast forward nearly four years — because justice moves at its own pace — and Bernadin and Mercedat, now 23, stood in Essex County Superior Court in Salem on Tuesday to answer for what they did.

The original charge was murder. What they pleaded guilty to was manslaughter.

For those keeping score: two shooters, two weapons, four bullets into a 20-year-old at a party, and somehow the Commonwealth landed on manslaughter. The sentence — nine to 10 years in state prison — means both men could realistically walk free by 30.

Brian Gomez will be 20 forever.

Mercedat, apparently not content with his existing legal situation, managed to pick up additional charges while awaiting trial at the Middleton House of Correction. He stomped on another inmate's head — earning himself guilty pleas for assault and battery with a deadly weapon, assault and battery, and disturbing a correctional institution.

The punishment for caving in a fellow inmate's skull? An extra 90 days. So roughly the same consequences as a bad semester at community college.

Gomez's family spoke during the sentencing hearing, doing what families in these situations are always asked to do — stand in a courtroom and explain to the people who killed their son, their brother, their friend, exactly what they took.

They described a vibrant young man. An emerging artist. Someone with a future that was no longer theoretical — it was scheduled. April 11, New York City, real industry people ready to listen.

Instead, his family got a courtroom, a plea deal, and two defendants who'll be home in time for their 30th birthdays.

Judge Kathleen McCarthy-Neyman presided. Essex County District Attorney Paul F. Tucker praised the work of Detective Josh Hilton and the Lynn Police Department, along with Trooper Matt Murphy and the Massachusetts State Police. Bernadin was represented by attorney Jeffrey Miller. Mercedat was represented by attorney Ronald Ranta.

Four bullets. Two guns. Two plea deals. And a kid who never got to play that show.