Gilbert police say they have fielded more than 260 calls tied to teen-on-teen violence over the past two years, a number shared publicly as Preston Lord's stepmother and other families pushed for policy changes at a local summit. The figure only counts incidents where both the victim and the suspect were teenagers, meaning cases involving adults were left out of the tally entirely.
Gilbert Police Chief Michael Soelberg disclosed the count, telling reporters that his office made 22 arrests in January alone for group attacks, according to kvoa.com. Soelberg was explicit that the 260-call figure excludes any incident where an adult was involved, saying the department tracked only cases where “the victim and suspect were teens.” The story was also covered by FOX 10 Phoenix as families continued advocating for stronger protections against group attacks involving minors.
Nine Active Cases, Some Dating Back Years
Separately, Gilbert police chief told the town council that there are officially nine active teen violence cases under investigation, per a report from ktar.com. The department had initially reported eight active cases earlier that week, split evenly between four previously unreported incidents and four cases that had been reopened.
A ninth case was added after police received a report describing an assault that occurred in November 2022, one that had gone unreported to authorities for years before surfacing recently, the outlet noted. Soelberg also told the council that victims have recently begun using the term “Gilbert Goons” when describing the people involved in these attacks, a label he said his office has started hearing directly from those reporting incidents.
Police Track Teen Violence
Gilbert police are investigating reported teen-on-teen attacks.
The case that set much of this in motion involves Preston Lord, a 16-year-old Gilbert teen who died after a brutal assault at a Queen Creek party on October 28, 2023. A Maricopa County grand jury later indicted Talan Renner, Dominic Turner, Talyn Vigil and William Hines in connection with his death, according to abc15.com. Officials said all four would be charged as adults, even those under 18 at the time.
Prior Cases Against One Suspect Surfaced Late
Gilbert police said William Hines had three pending aggravated-assault cases at the time of the indictment, including one tied to his arrest in an aggravated-assault DUI case, per the same abc15.com account. Two of those other aggravated-assault cases were never reported to Gilbert police until December 2023 and January 2024, months after the underlying incidents allegedly occurred.
The pattern of delayed reporting echoes broader concerns raised by Maricopa County officials. Maricopa County and law enforcement agencies believe social media is playing a role in fueling recent high-profile youth violence in the region, according to yourvalley.net. Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell announced a “Report, Don't Repost” campaign urging witnesses to send footage of teen violence to police rather than simply circulating it online, noting that teens will often record themselves and their peers in fights and brawls.
Legislative Response
The scrutiny has also reached the state legislature. An Arizona legislative committee advanced a bill to ban brass knuckles with unanimous support, the kvoa.com report states. Connor Jarnagan, who testified at the hearing, said he needed staples in his head after a brass-knuckles assault in December 2022.
Neighboring Chandler has taken its own steps. The City of Chandler held a listening session with the community at Veteran's Oasis Park, according to azfamily.com, where Police Chief Bryan Chapman said there were no active teen violence cases involving the so-called Goons in his jurisdiction at that time. Chandler's council later planned to discuss proposed ordinances addressing unruly teen parties and banning brass knuckles, with Chapman urging residents to share photos or videos directly with investigators rather than posting them only on social media.
