Gilbert police reopen investigations after The Republic connects 'Goon' beatings
The Gilbert Police Department has reopened four criminal investigations involving teens, including attacks by members of the "Gilbert Goons."
Gilbert police officials would not say why they have reopened the cases and provided scant information about them because, the department said, they are open.
In mid-December, The Arizona Republic published an investigation that found the Gilbert Goons, a gang of mostly affluent teenagers, had engaged in a string of blitz-style attacks on other teens in the southeast Valley for more than a year, according to interviews, court and police records, and social media posts.
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Two of the reopened Gilbert cases were attacks documented by The Republic. The other two were labeled as "threats" by the department.
Gilbert, which in early December publicized its ranking as the second-safest big city in the U.S., was a hub for Goons attacks, according to reports by victims and their families. But Gilbert police never connected the assaults, even those in the same location, to the Goons or any other group.
The department initially told The Republic it had no cases where victims referred to the Goons by name. In recent updates online, however, the department states victims have since referred to their attackers as being associated with the group.
In addition to reopening four cases, Gilbert police officials said the department is reviewing cases involving teenagers from the past two years.
"We continue to actively review our assault cases involving youths to see if there is any additional information or correlation between these incidents that can assist us with our past investigations," an unidentified department spokesperson said in an email on Tuesday.
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Southeast Valley parents and students, as well as community organizers, said members of the Goons were involved in the Oct. 28 fatal beating of 16-year-old Preston Lord in Queen Creek. None of the Goons has been arrested or named as suspects by police in Lord's case, which remains unsolved nearly two months later.
2 known 'Goon' beatings, 2 cases of threats
The four reopened cases date back to mid-December 2022, according to Gilbert police. The most recent incident took place just over a month ago, after Lord's attack.
Police have reopened the investigation into the Aug. 18 beating of Richard Kuehner's 16-year-old son. He was attacked at the Gilbert In-N-Out Burger near San Tan Village Parkway and East Williams Field Road. The Republic documented at least four attacks at the In-N-Out in the past year through interviews and records.
The investigation into the attack on Kuehner's son was listed by Gilbert police as "inactive pending additional investigative leads." But the day after The Republic's report on the Goons, Kuehner said police assigned a detective.
"Well, in fact, since media's helped, they have now assigned a detective to my case," Kuehner said. "Go figure."
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Kuehner previously told The Republic that his son's shoes were stolen during the beating and described perpetrators "kicking and stomping" his son. After the beating, he said his son came home bleeding and visibly shaken. He had to take him to the emergency room, where Kuehner racked up a $14,000 bill.
Before a detective was assigned to his son's attack, Kuehner said, his last update from police was that a video of his son's attack was sent to officers at East Valley high schools to see if they could recognize any of the kids pictured.
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On Friday, Gilbert police took to Facebook and asked anyone with information about the attack, which they labeled an "aggravated robbery," to come forward. The post included multiple images from the attack — one showed several individuals kicking the victim. Police said they were trying to identify the people involved.
"This investigation is thoroughly being reviewed and, depending on the outcome, multiple charges could be applicable," said Gilbert police spokesperson Brenda Carrasco on Friday.
Another reopened case is the beating of Lori Nitzen's 16-year-old son at a Dec. 17, 2022, party in Gilbert. Brass knuckles were used in the assault.
One Goon who attacked Nitzen's son was involved in another attack less than two weeks later outside the Gilbert In-N-Out. He was charged with aggravated robbery and aggravated assault for the two cases. He was detained for more than three months before being placed on probation.
A report filed in April in Maricopa County Superior Court noted the teenager acknowledged "multiple instances of leaving the home with the plan to assault people for no reason."
Though an arrest was made in the attack on Nitzen's son, Gilbert police officials said Tuesday that a follow-up investigation was needed.
The two other reopened cases were related to alleged threats on Aug. 14 and on Nov. 24. Police said a follow-up investigation was needed for both incidents, but no additional information was released about them to The Republic.
Republic reporter Robert Anglen contributed to this article.
Elena Santa Cruz is a criminal justice reporter for The Republic. Reach her at [email protected] or 480-466-2265. Follow her on X at @ecsantacruz3.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Republic links 'Goon' attacks; Gilbert police reopen investigations
