The wave of teen violence rocking Arizona's East Valley has seen new developments, as police in Gilbert have arrested two additional suspects and filed charges against an out-of-state man for a December assault. In the ongoing crackdown, 19-year-old Gage Garrison and 18-year-old Cody Kostoryz were taken into custody for an incident that transpired at a home near Higley and Elliot on Dec. 17, 2022. Both face serious allegations of aggravated assault and burglary, details of which stemmed from a FOX 10 Phoenix report.
Simultaneously, a criminal case ferments against Nolan Russell, 18, who is not only charged with burglary and aggravated assault but also the ominous accusation of kidnapping. Russell, currently residing beyond Arizona borders, is under the scrutiny of the Gilbert Police, which has pushed for "an arrest warrant with nationwide extradition upon charging," as stated in police disclosures.
These arrests correlate with a disturbing rise in teen-related crime that has plagued communities across the state. A separate but equally troubling case that resulted in an indictment was announced on the same day by Maricopa County Attorney's Office, tying in with another incident in Queen Creek from October 2023 that concluded fatally and is still under investigation.
The Maricopa County Attorney's Office detailed new indictments involving two teenagers regarding a string of violent acts. Seventeen-year-old Tyler Allen Freeman and 18-year-old William Owen Hines face multiple charges linked to an assault at a party on Nov. 22, 2022. Hines, driving recklessly, allegedly injured someone with a vehicle in July of the subsequent year and later performed in an assault at an In-N-Out in December 2022, as 12 News reported.
The charges against the teens are multifaceted. Freeman is looking down the barrel of one count of aggravated assault with a dangerous instrument, a Class 3 dangerous felony; one count of aggravated assault, a Class 6 felony; and one count of assault, a Class 3 misdemeanor. Also embroiled in related cases, Freeman has been charged as an adult. His alleged accomplice, Hines, faces one count of aggravated assault, a Class 6 felony. County Attorney Rachel Mitchell emphasized that "these indictments are independent of the submittals received for the death of 16-year-old Preston Lord."
