The Ventura County District Attorney’s Office announced that two individuals, one a known gang member and the other a juvenile, have been charged in connection to a hate crime assault that occurred in Thousand Oaks. According to the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office, the suspects targeted African American victims with racial slurs and physical violence on New Year’s Eve.
Javier Gomez, born on November 22, 2005, and a 14-year-old juvenile, both hailing from Thousand Oaks, reportedly cornered two African American individuals walking to their car and proceeded to verbally and physically assault them, as detailed by the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office. Gomez is accused of equipping the juvenile with a baseball bat, which was then used to strike one of the victims several times. Despite the attack, the victim fortunately sustained only minor injuries. In charges filed separately in adult and juvenile court, each faces one count of assault with a deadly weapon, with added specifications that the crime was committed for the advantage of a gang and with the intent to carry out a hate crime…