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Tag: Gilbert Goons

  • 6 people charged with murder in Preston Lord beating death

    6 people charged with murder in Preston Lord beating death

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    Six men have been charged in the beating of Preston Lord, a dramatic development in a homicide that has consumed prosecutors and police since the 16-year-old was killed during a Halloween party in Queen Creek.

    On Wednesday, a Maricopa County grand jury indicted four people. Queen Creek police arrested three of the men within hours, while the fourth was already in jail on other charges. On Thursday morning, the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office confirmed two more arrests in Lord’s death.

    The six people charged in the case:

    • William Owen Hines, 18. He’s charged with first-degree murder and/or second-degree murder and kidnapping.
    • Talan Renner, 17. He’s charged with first-degree murder and/or second-degree murder and kidnapping.
    • Dominic Turner, 20. He’s charged with first-degree murder and/or second-degree murder, aggravated robbery and kidnapping.
    • Talyn Vigil, 17. He’s charged with first-degree murder and/or second-degree murder and kidnapping.
    • Taylor Sherman, 19. He’s charged with first-degree murder and/or second-degree murder and kidnapping.
    • Jacob Meisner, 17. He’s charged with first-degree murder and/or second-degree murder, aggravated robbery and kidnapping.

    Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell announced the indictments and arrests of Hines, Renner, Turner and Vigil late Wednesday during a press conference with Queen Creek police Chief Randy Brice.

    “This effort on the part of my office, and the Queen Creek Police Department, as well as the Gilbert and Mesa police departments and other partners in the system has been a lengthy, meticulous and thorough investigation and review,” Mitchell said. “Let me be very clear. This investigation and review are not over.”

    Additional charges in the case are possible, Mitchell said Wednesday. By Thursday morning, Sherman and Meisner also were charged in Lord’s death. Meisner was already in custody; Sherman was arrested late Wednesday.

    All six people are being held on $1 million bonds, according to Mitchell’s office.

    click to enlarge

    Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell announced on Wednesday the arrest of four people in the killing of Preston Lord. Two more people were also charged in the case.

    Queen Creek Police Department

    ‘Massive step forward in the quest for justice’

    On Dec. 28, Queen Creek police submitted charges against seven suspects to Michell’s office. Prosecutors reviewed more than 2,000 pages of investigative records and more than 2,000 pieces of evidence, including 600 videos, Mitchell said during a Jan. 10 press conference.

    On Wednesday, Mitchell — who has bristled at withering criticism on social media of her and police over the pace of the investigation — said prosecutors took the case to an investigative grand jury beginning on Feb. 7. Prosecutors also had to wait on the results of Lord’s autopsy, which the Maricopa County Office of the Medical Examiner provided on Feb. 14, Mitchell said. Those two pieces were critical to arresting suspects in Lord’s death, she said.

    “What has happened here today is a massive step forward in the quest for justice for Preston Lord,” Mitchell said.

    “Too many people have complained that nothing was happening, and the family heard that. To you, I say directly, ‘You could not have been more wrong.’ From the night of the incident, the Queen Creek Police Department has spent hundreds of hours piecing together an extremely complex case that involved dozens of potential players,” she added.

    Brice said the arrests were the culmination of efforts by police and prosecutors to “get justice for Preston.”

    “This was a Herculean effort on the part of the police department,” Brice said. “We have a very experienced staff that is more than capable of handling these types of investigations, and they’ve done a wonderful job.”

    Mitchell said that before the indictments in Lord’s homicide, her office has aggressively pursued charges against people involved in a string of aggravated assault cases in the East Valley — widely known as the Gilbert Goons, which may or may not be a criminal gang. Those include 13 adults facing 40 criminal counts and seven juveniles charged with 14 counts.

    Hines is among those charged in the East Valley assault cases. He faces one count of aggravated assault for a Nov. 22, 2022, incident and one count of vehicular aggravated assault from a July 6, 2023, incident.

    Renner’s older brother, 19-year-old Kyler, faces one count of aggravated assault in Dec. 3, 2022, case; six drug-related counts from a March 29 traffic stop in Gilbert; and two drug charges from a third incident. When Gilbert police searched the Renner home in January, officers allegedly found drugs and arrested Travis Renner, 50, and Kiara Holsapple, 20, on drug charges. Travis Renner is the father of Kyler and Talan.

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    Matt Hennie

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  • 9 teens indicted in Gilbert Goons, East Valley assault cases so far

    9 teens indicted in Gilbert Goons, East Valley assault cases so far

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    Editor’s note: This story was originally published on Feb. 6 and updated on Feb. 7 and Feb. 23 with additional indictments.

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    Two more people accused of aggravated assaults in a rash of teen violence cases in Gilbert and the East Valley were indicted, Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell announced on Thursday.

    Also, a third teen already indicted for aggravated assault was indicted again, this time on several drug charges from an incident unrelated to the aggravated assault, according to Mitchell’s office.

    Cody Michael Kostoryz and Gage Silas Garrison were indicted on Feb. 15 for their alleged role in assaulting a person at a party on Dec. 17, 2022. Also on Feb. 15, Kyler Matthew Renner was indicted on six drug-related charges for an incident on March 29, 2023. Garrison and Renner were already indicted for aggravated assault for their alleged role in a Dec. 3, 2022 assault.

    In early February, Mitchell’s office announced the indictments of Garrison, Renner, Jack Jay Woods, Tyler Allen Freeman and William Owen Hines for their alleged roles in teen violence cases in the East Valley.

    Her office has publicly announced the indictments of nine people across seven cases since January for assault in Gilbert and the East Valley. On Thursday, Mitchell’s office said prosecutors have 27 open cases from submittals received from two East Valley police departments and have charged 19 individuals — adults and juveniles — with 52 total counts.

    Mitchell’s announcement this week comes as intense media scrutiny over the Gilbert Goons continues in the wake of Preston Lord’s beating death in October. None of the indictments are related to Lord’s death, according to Mitchell’s office.

    Mitchell’s office has announced several indictments since January:

    In the Dec. 3, 2022 incident, Garrison, Renner and Woods allegedly used brass knuckles to attack a man at a parking garage in downtown Gilbert, according to court documents. The victim suffered head, jaw and torso injuries, according to court documents.

    Arizona lawmakers are now considering banning brass knuckles.

    On Jan. 25, a $75,000 bond was set for Garrison, who also faces electronic monitoring and a curfew if released from jail, according to court documents. A $100,000 bond was set for Renner, who also faces electronic monitoring and a curfew if released from jail.

    The victim told police he went to downtown Gilbert after spending time with friends at the In-N-Out Burger at 2449 S. Market St., in Gilbert. The fast-food restaurant is at the center of complaints about incidents of teen violence by the Gilbert Goons.

    A group of men wearing black caps — allegedly Garrison, Renner and Woods — approached the victim in the parking garage and attacked him, according to probable cause statements from Gilbert police.

    “The victim reported he was thrown to the ground and saw a subject with brass knuckles but could not recall if they were used,” according to the statements.

    Gilbert police said a video of the incident showed Garrison punching and kicking the victim in the face. When officers arrested Garrison on Jan. 24, he allegedly told them he was familiar with the attack and identified himself in a video of the incident.

    Garrison told police he attacked the victim after “perceiving the subject was threatening them,” according to a probable cause statement.

    “It should be noted the video and other witness statements differ from Gage Garrison’s account,” police said.

    On Jan. 31, Gilbert police announced three arrests and said it’s made 35 arrests involving teen violence — including 22 arrests in January.

    Gilbert police arrested Renner on Jan. 24 for his alleged role in two incidents — a November 2022 assault near a residence at Higley and Riggs Roads and the December incident at the parking garage. While searching the Renner home, police allegedly found drugs and arrested Travis Renner, 50, and Kiara Holsapple, 20, on drug charges. Travis Renner is Kyler’s father.

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    Matt Hennie

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  • Prosecutors ‘still looking’ at whether Gilbert Goons a criminal gang

    Prosecutors ‘still looking’ at whether Gilbert Goons a criminal gang

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    As her office continues to indict teens in an East Valley crime spree, Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell said she’s concerned about an “explosion of juvenile gun violence.”

    Mitchell’s office has announced nine indictments involving eight people and five cases in Gilbert and the East Valley since January. Gilbert and Mesa police have referred 19 people to her office for prosecution, Mitchell said Wednesday.

    “Most charges are related to assault, different classes of assaults depending on the type of injury and various factors within the case,” Mitchell said.

    Mitchell again faced questions from reporters about the Gilbert Goons, teen violence and the killing of Preston Lord during her biweekly press conference on Wednesday.

    None of the indictments are related to Lord’s homicide in October. In late December, the Queen Creek Police Department submitted a mountain of evidence related to Lord’s death, which many parents and East Valley residents have connected to a violent group of mostly white males known as the Gilbert Goons.

    Mitchell defended her office on Jan. 24 when challenged by reporters on the lack of indictments in the Lord case. She said her prosecutors were still studying the 2,000-page police report, 2,000 pieces of evidence and 600 videos submitted to her office by Queen Creek police. 

    On Wednesday, she read a statement from Preston Lord’s parents, which was projected onto a screen for reporters. In it, the family stated that Mitchell “continues to provide us with updates on her office’s review of the case.” The family added that “we understand that there is work to be done to achieve justice for Preston,” and so they are “exercising patience.” 

    The family urged “members of the community and the media” to do the same.

    Mitchell also was asked if the Gilbert Goons are a criminal street gang.

    “We are still looking at that,” she said. “There actually is a set process by which to do that, and so we’re working through that set process.”

    Banning brass knuckles won’t be ‘cure-all’

    Mitchell also was asked about the use of brass knuckles in some attacks on East Valley teens. She said that in some cases, using brass knuckles during an assault could elevate the crime to a felony. She expressed support for SB 1183, a bill sponsored by state Sen. John Kavanagh, a Fountain Hills Republican, that makes the possession of brass knuckles a misdemeanor in Arizona.

    “One thing I would say though is there’s always going to be a weapon,” she said. “And so it’s not going to be the cure-all.”

    The Senate Judiciary Committee passed the bill in a 7-0 vote on Feb. 1.

    Mitchell added that she also was concerned about the “explosion of juvenile gun violence” in the Valley and that her office has been working with the legislature to address it.

    She cited HB 2819 from state Rep. Quang Nguyen, a Republican from Prescott Valley. The legislation requires parental consent for a minor to possess or carry a gun at their home. Currently, state law allows a minor to have a gun at home without their parents’ approval.

    “What the police are seeing is they’re getting calls from parents who are saying, ‘My child has a gun. Could you come get it? Because I’m fearful of what will happen,’” Mitchell said. “And because it is not impermissible under the law for them to have a gun within their own home, and parental consent doesn’t matter, the police are unable to act on that.”

    Nguyen’s bill could “close up that loophole,” Mitchell added, allowing police and prosecutors to intervene at an early age.

    “If we don’t capture that violent tendency or the tendency to carry guns around at that level, when they move into 18 years old, it’s a completely different story for their lives,” Mitchell said.

    Nguyen’s bill was assigned to the House Judiciary Committee on Thursday.



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    Stephen Lemons

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