Javier Gomez of Thousand Oaks convicted of December 2024 racially-motivated assault

VENTURA COUNTY, Calif. (KEYT) – Javier Gomez of Thousand Oaks pled guilty to assaulting an African-American man with a baseball bat due to the victim's race this week.

On April 27, Gomez pled guilty to one felony count of assault with a deadly weapon as well as the special allegations and aggravating factors that the attack was motivated by the victim's race, that he was on probation at the time, and the attack caused great bodily injury noted the Ventura County District Attorney's Office in a press release.

According to the local prosecutor's office, Gomez is a documented gang member and he approached an African-American man as he walked to his parked vehicle alongside a juvenile on December 31, 2024.

Gomez and the juvenile shouted racial slurs before Gomez hit the victim in the head with a baseball bat, handed the bat to his juvenile accomplice, and the juvenile then proceeded to hit the man again in the head detailed the Ventura County District Attorney's Office.

The victim's wife called 911 and arriving deputies arrested Gomez and the juvenile at the scene shared the Ventura County District Attorney's Office.

The victim is not associated with any gang and suffered both cognitive and vision issues for months after the attack added the Ventura County District Attorney's Office.

The involved minor admitted to their charges and was sentenced in juvenile court noted the Ventura County District Attorney's Office.

Gomez is currently scheduled for sentencing on May 26, 2026, where he is expected to be sentenced to five years in state prison noted the Ventura County District Attorney's Office.

"The victim and his wife showed tremendous courage by testifying at the preliminary hearing and
confronting hate head on," stated District Attorney Erik Nasarenko. "Our community will not tolerate
hate-fueled violence or gang-related intimidation."