Parker Live News from the Parker Strip since 2009.
A former La Paz County Sheriff’s Deputy has admitted to attempted sexual abuse at a party last summer.
John Gomez was with a female deputy in the kitchen area of a residence on Reata Avenue in Parker on August 19th, 2018 when he allegedly made advances on her and inappropriately touched her.
The victim told investigators with the Yuma County Sheriff’s Office that Gomez put his hand into her pants and underwear and put his hand on her genitals. She said that she struck Gomez with an open hand on the throat to get him away from her, but he continued to make advances, including putting his hand into her shirt and bra, manipulating and pinching her breasts. She again pushed him away and left the house.
In the days after the incident, the victim made a recorded phone call to Gomez in which she confronted him about the incident. In the recording, he reportedly admitted that he remembered groping her breasts but did not remember putting his hand into her pants. He told her that he was drunk and must have blacked out, and said that he believed her and did not doubt what she said.
Gomez was then interviewed in Parker by an investigator with the Yuma County Sheriff’s Department and again admitted to fondling her, saying that he had been drinking all day and was “very drunk”, but that he did not remember putting his hand into her pants. He was placed under arrest and charged with sexual abuse and sexual assault.
In La Paz County Superior Court last Monday, Gomez accepted a plea agreement from the La Paz County Attorney’s Office, pleading guilty to attempted sexual abuse, which is a class six felony. The court deferred acceptance of the plea agreement until sentencing.
Gomez no longer works for the La Paz County Sheriff’s Department. He will be sentenced in July.
Wonder what his plea was…
Well then, maybe he shouldn’t consume alcohol if he’s going to use that as a fucking excuse…THERE IS NO FUCKING EXCUSE! SMFH!
That MF would have been on the ground after I kneed him in the groin.
Career ended
Judge Newman did not accept that plea agreement yet.
????
Kassie – You’re correct. Updated!
Thank you for updating. Also, the call that was made between the victim and John Gomez is what’s called a confrontational call, she wasn’t calling to set him up. This was recommended by investigators.
Very shameful and shoddy reporting, John. When is the victim’s name in this kind of crime ever put in the media?
It’s strange to use a victim’s name in a case like this
Guys – There isn’t one standard practice on this. Although the name of the victim in this case is a matter of public record, you’ve caused me to think about it. In the meantime, I’ve removed the victim’s name and I’ll continue to reflect on whether my original decision was the right one. (Always want to be thoughtful and responsive in things like this.) Thanks.
Thank you for that, John!
Thank you for removing her name, John!
If all good officers reported bad behavior by fellow officers, we wouldn’t have some of the messes that we see in law enforcement agencies. My thanks to the reporting officer, keep up the good work. You build trust in your agency, display honor and do our community proud.
Laurie Tomasino it was a boo boo.
Thank you for removing her name….
We know it’s public record but just doesn’t seem right. Also, could’ve contacted victim before posting, two reasons, to get her side, then you would’ve known plea wasn’t accepted and just plain decency because of the kind of case it is.
Kassie- Just to let you in on the process a bit… very limited time and resources so sometimes an article is just a simple ‘case overview’, like this one, sourced from court documents (the aim is to serve the public interest in sharing the essential details of something going on in their community). Other times, it’s a bigger case, more involved, and so we’ll take longer and do interviews etc. This one is smaller. I know we don’t always get everything right. But do try. (Re. acceptance of the plea, that info I already had.)
Hello at party I bet they got a little to much to drink.
Question is he was so drunk that he left. OBVIOUSLY HE SHOULD BE CHARGE WITH DUI! Is poor opinion!????
I was wondering how long it was going to take before his arrest was made public. Not sure why it was kept hush hush for so long, absolutely ridiculous.
Oscar Ortega article says she pushed him away and left the house. She left the house not him. It was his house so he never left anywhere resulting in no DUI because he never drove anywhere. He was already home ????♀️????♀️????♀️
arrest was public the moment it happened. Was the talk of this pathetic town for weeks. The court hearing barely happened last Monday according to this article. How much faster did you expect the investigation to happen. The court system moves at a snails pace so it’s no surprise 9 months have gone by already.
Actually it wasn’t made public the moment of the arrest, I know because I happened to work there when he was arrested and it was definitely kept quiet.
Myles Patch prob 10 hrs community service and a position working for the town
Dawn Cook it was made public immediately
Hope he was fired Wayne
Do you know where that can be found?
Just to clarify- attempted class 6 felony can be dropped to a misdemeanor if terms of probation are followed…sexual assault is a class 2 felony. Sexual abuse is a class 5. If he’s admitting to groping her breasts than how is he even being offered the attempted class 6. Sounds like the victim got the shit end of the stick by the prosecutor. Good on the judge for rejecting the initial plea.
Smh
Dawn Cook either both or one of the other, parker live and/or parker pioneer wrote an article.
Dan Just to clarify, as I understand it, the judge deferred acceptance of the plea until sentencing. It wasn’t rejected (unless you’re talking about a previous plea I’m not aware of?)
Yes. He should be charged with DUI. Good luck with that since he wasnt driving, and there are 0 facts (field sobrerity tests, breathalyzer results, or even being pulled over while driving). Wouldn’t need Cochran or Shapiro to get that tossed out of court. Lol
Laurie Tomasino sure take advantage of a drunk cop ????????
First, my prayers go out to the victim of this crime. In reading the story and post it appears this is just being reported on? 9 months after the fact? If I am wrong please so state. Regardless, it is no surprise as it is par for the course of the lies, corruption and cover ups that have been going on in the county of La Paz for a long time. Unfortunately so much of it involves the law and the government. PL does not hesitate to tell the front story but never follows thu with the back story. ###* A number of police officers have lost their careers and marriages over group sex parties and relationships that have gone on in LPC for years. All under the noses of the leaders of the agencies in the county and they knew about it. ###* The recent article written about former CA Buckelew is another example of the front story with no follow up on the back story. Everything Mr. Buckelew is alleging is fact and so much more. John, it seems so many times that this site is nothing more than the National Enquirer of LPC. If you are going to have a NEWS page then tell of the news. The front story and the back story. And maybe some investigative reporting as well. We can only hope that the victim recovers and justice is served, and the corruption in LPC ends one day.
JR
*Moderated (alleges specifics that PL hasn’t been able to verify)
Jim- The National Enquirer makes up stories. The National Enquirer is salacious and gossip. If you see PL that way, why are you reading? Truth: We publish news to the extent that our resources make possible. If you want investigative reporting of a much deeper, more resource-intensive nature, please get in touch with me HERE to offer the money to pay for it. Otherwise, we have a site here that didn’t exist a decade ago, providing news that often hasn’t been reported before, and most of our readers seem to feel that has value. Thanks. JW
Well said, John! I, for one, appreciate your efforts, and I know how hard it is to gather news in a small community. Remember: you can please some of the people all of the time and you can please all of the people some of the time….
These armchair news reporters should get out there and publish their information since they know so much more than we do.
Obviously there is more to the story and leading to this incident. I’m sure it was not the first time this happened. Also I’m sure both were intoxicated. I’m not saying it was right if he did this but pretty sure advances were made prior to this one if so why even go anywhere with him or be in that situation.
Anna- I’m not sure why you would assume that the victim had been drinking, but even if she had, what’s wrong with that? Your attempts to place any amount of blame on the victim are the primary reason many victims don’t come forward to tell their stories at all. Sorry, this is very simple, both legally and ethically: If she did not consent to being touched in this way, then she is a victim, period. There is no gray area here.