Man who allegedly ambushed Sacramento cop had no local criminal history

The two men implicated in the reportedly unprovoked attack on a Sacramento police officer have different criminal histories, in that the guy who allegedly authored the attack has none and the guy who supposedly egged him on has a lengthy one.

According to the Sacramento Police Department, one of their officers was sitting in his patrol vehicle outside of Kaiser Permanente South Sacramento when Juan Emilio Gomez approached and asked for the officer's help.

Police say the 21-year-old Gomez floated the lie that there was an armed man in the area to lure the officer out of his cruiser. When the cop stepped out of his car, police say Gomez pounced, sucker punching him to the ground and hitting him in the face repeatedly. Gomez, listed at 5-foot-10 and 190 pounds, also reportedly tried to grab the cop's gun out of his holster, without success.

Police say while this was going on, Jamaral Reken Lee stood by encouraging the assault while he videotaped it. It's not clear whether the two men knew each other.

Gomez has no prior charges or convictions in Sacramento County. Lee, on the other hand, is well acquainted with the Sacramento Superior Court system. According to online court records, the 35-year-old has been convicted on five separate occasions.

The first conviction was in 1998, when Lee pleaded no contest to one count of misdemeanor battery, which earned him five days in jail and three years on probation. In 2003, he pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor count of obstructing a peace officer. A year later, it was a misdemeanor battery charge against a spouse or cohabitant (domestic violence). In 2007, he was convicted of violating a restraining order, a felony, and sentenced to two years in state prison. His last conviction occurred in 2008, when Lee pleaded guilty to misdemeanor possession of marijuana.

Both men remained in custody at the main jail downtown on Tuesday. Gomez appeared in court for a bail review hearing on October 9, but the judge left it at $500,000. Lee was next scheduled to stand before a judge on October 15.

Police officials did not respond to requests for comment.