'Upset about their complacency': Preston Lord's dad speaks on police inaction

The parents of Preston Lord are upset over the Gilbert Police Department's failure to intervene in "Gilbert Goons" attacks months before their 16-year-old son was beaten to death at a Halloween party.

Nick Lord said a newly released report showing Gilbert police had information about gang attacks involving members of the Goons in early 2023 raised issues of accountability.

"In the back of my mind, I have wondered if there is more to the story than what was being presented to the public," Lord told The Arizona Republic. "You can't begin to fix an issue if you don't address it properly."

The Lords join a chorus of victims, concerned parents and community activists asking questions about the police response to an outbreak of gang attacks that originated in Gilbert in 2022 before spreading to other East Valley communities.

The department did not connect assaults by the same group of teens that occurred in the same locations, even though police records show teens bragged on Snapchat about 30-plus assaults, joked about being called a gang and questioned if they might get caught.

"I am upset about their complacency on the issue as a whole," Lord said. "But not more angry with them than the people that stand accused of this horrible crime."

Bryn K. DeFusco, the Lord family's lawyer, said they hope the exposure of the report leads to "positive and necessary changes" in the community, which bills itself as one of the safest cities in America.

"They (Lord family members) are deeply disappointed to learn that law enforcement had knowledge of numerous assaults (for almost a year) before they lost Preston to teen violence," DeFusco said in a statement.

Police report into brass knuckles attack suggests gang connection

The report, obtained by The Republic through a public records request, shows police failed to crack down on the gang, making scant arrests even as the Goons continued recording assaults on teens at fast food restaurants, parks and house parties throughout the East Valley and sharing those videos on social media.

Gilbert police Chief Michael Soelberg said in a statement last month police thoroughly investigated messages the teens posted on Snapchat and could find no evidence to substantiate their claims. He has repeatedly said the department had no way to link attacks to a specific group or tie them to specific locations until after Lord's murder.

"It is also important to emphasize that outside of this Snapchat thread ... there was no additional evidence of gang activity or references to gang activity," Soelberg said in his statement.

The police report stemmed from an investigation into a Dec. 30, 2022, brass knuckles attack on Connor Jarnagan, 17, at the Gilbert In-N-Out Burger. The beating took place two weeks after another brass knuckles beating at a Gilbert house party. Less than two weeks after the assaults, police arrested two teens in connection with the attacks.

The group chats indicate police were aware both attacks were connected to a group of teens involved in multiple assaults. Names were redacted from the police report.

"Bruhhs — they are knowing who we all are," one teen posted. "Gotta chill on the fighting they building a case."

Connor Jarnagan's mother, Stephanie Jarnagan, said the report was disturbing and disappointing. She said if Gilbert police had acted sooner, they could have stopped other attacks, including Lord's killing.

Her husband, in an email to police about other beatings by the same group of teens, warned that victims and witnesses were afraid of retaliation.

Advocate: 'Goons' attacks were allowed to escalate by lack of action

Lord was punched, stomped and kicked during a party in Queen Creek on Oct. 28. The popular student leader and basketball player at Combs High School died two days later of traumatic brain injuries without ever regaining consciousness.

A December investigation by The Republic first tied Lord's beating to the Goons. The Republic has documented 18 Goons attacks involving 95 people that have occurred since November 2022. Authorities in Gilbert, Mesa and Pinal County began making arrests tied to the beatings in January and have since made 30 arrests.

Queen Creek police in March arrested four adults and three juveniles in connection with the attack on Lord. The Maricopa County Attorney's Office has charged them with first-degree murder and kidnapping. All have pleaded not guilty.

Two accused in Lord's death have been charged in separate beating cases. A third appears in multiple beating videos but has not been arrested in connection with them.

Kristine Brennan, who has organized campaigns in the East Valley since Lord's death to raise awareness about teen violence, said she wants to know why police didn't do more.

"I was angry and disappointed," Brennan said. "I have many questions about why most of these teens weren't given higher priority by the police. Have the police abandoned the juvenile justice system? Is this a case of lazy policing?"

Even if the teens weren't officially classified as a gang until May, the police should have been monitoring their activities, she said.

"The community and parents have a responsibility to keep an eye on their children and work with authorities to ensure safety," Brennan said. "This also raises another question: Have the police given up on parents?"

She said the police report makes clear the teens were emboldened by the lack of arrests, as evidenced by the string of beatings at the In-N-Out on San Tan Village Parkway and Williams Field Road.

The Republic documented at least seven attacks at the In-N-Out, including two in 2023 that occurred after Soelberg said officers stepped up patrols there as a direct result of the Snapchat messages.

One of the attacks left a teen with a $14,000 medical bill and forced him to move out of the country in fear. Gilbert initially closed the case. It was reopened after The Republic's December report, and police arrested six teens.

A teen tied to that attack told detectives in December that fights happened at the In-N-Out "all summer long" nonstop, saying: "And cops never did anything about it, but now a kid dies, and everybody wants to do something about it."

Brennan said she has tried to give police the benefit of the doubt. She said the community's push to hold parents responsible for parties, regulate brass knuckles and classify the Goons as a street gang represents progress.

But there are still questions that demand answers, she said.

"There is definitely a clear pattern of no accountability, which is very concerning," Brennan said. "We need to find out why. Each time they (teens) acted out without facing consequences, their behavior escalated, pushing boundaries further until, tragically, Preston was murdered."

Robert Anglen is an investigative reporter for The Republic. Reach him at [email protected]. Follow him on X @robertanglen.

Elena Santa Cruz is a criminal justice reporter for The Republic. Reach her at [email protected]. Follow her on X @ecsantacruz3.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Preston Lord's father speaks on police inaction on 'Gilbert Goons'