A 20-year-old Thousand Oaks man was sentenced to five years in state prison for a December 2024, racially motivated attack of an African American man.
Javier Gomez pleaded guilty to one count of assault with a deadly weapon in April and admitted to a number special allegations, including gang affiliation, hate crime and great bodily harm, according to the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office May 29 announcement on his sentencing.
Ventura County Superior Court Judge Dusty Kawai sentenced Gomez May 26, according to court records.
On Dec. 31, 2024, the man, then 19, and a juvenile approached the victim as he walked to his parked car in Thousand Oaks. Gomez and the youth yelled racial slurs and claimed their gang before cornering the victim and beating him in the head with a baseball bat, the DA’s office said.
The victim’s girlfriend called 911, and Ventura County Sheriff’s deputies arrived and arrested Gomez and the juvenile.
The victim suffered cognitive and vision issues for months following the attack, the DA’s release says.
The minor admitted to the charges and was sentenced in juvenile court, according to the DA’s office.
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Thousand Oaks man gets 5 years for hate crime, attack with bat
Reporting by Staff reports, Ventura County Star / Ventura County Star
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