'Gilbert Goons' are gang, but no added charges warranted, investigation concludes

By Tom Blodgett
Mail |
X: @sp_blodgett

The Gilbert Goons are a criminal gang, a multiagency investigation has concluded, but there is insufficient evidence to submit additional charges of participating in or assisting a criminal street gang, officials said Thursday. 

Those findings were announced at a news conference at Gilbert Town Hall with six law enforcement agencies present. 

Maj. Brant Benham of the Arizona Department of Public Safety, which heads the state’s gang task force, said it is not a crime to be a member of a criminal street gang. 

Furthermore, to charge a member with participating in or assisting a gang, the evidence must demonstrate that the criminal act was committed to promote or further the criminal objective of the criminal street gang, Benham said. 

“For these additional charges, it is important to note that although the criteria not been met at this time, the gang intelligence information is available to the county attorneys as supplemental information that may assist with their prosecutions or sentencing upon conviction,” Gilbert Police Chief Michael Soelberg said. “As with any investigation, if further information or evidence is discovered, it will be reviewed and to determine if additional charges are warranted.” 

The investigation was launched in the wake of San Tan Valley teenager Preston Lord's death after he was beaten at a Halloween house party in Queen Creek. The name "Gilbert Goons" surfaced to the public shortly thereafter and also was tied to a series of teen violence incidents throughout the East Valley.

Sgt. Dave Gale, head of the Gilbert Police Department’s Street Crimes Unit, which led the gang investigation, said none of the agencies involved — which included the Arizona Department of Public Safety, the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office, and the police departments from Gilbert, Chandler, Queen Creek and Mesa — could come up with the evidence to support additional charges based on the gang affiliation. 

To illustrate the difference, Gale used the example of a gang member who sells drugs on the street corner. If the member keeps the money and pays his bills with it, there would be no additional charges. But if it is funneled back to the gang to fund its activities, then the statutes would apply. 

A second gang that was previously known to law enforcement, the Jack Boy Mafia, also has been involved in some of the group teen violence cases, but does not meet the standards for additional charges, Soelberg said. 

Benham said federal law prevents the agencies from releasing to the public gang intelligence about who the gang members are, including whether any of the arrested suspects are members. 

“But we can tell you that they are known to all of these agencies here today, and we are watching them and anybody associated with them,” Soelberg said. “They will be held accountable for their criminal actions.” 

Independent Newsmedia/Tom Blodgett

Independent Newsmedia/Tom Blodgett

Independent Newsmedia/Tom Blodgett

Soelberg said both gangs are classified as “hybrid” criminal street gangs, as opposed to traditional gangs. While there is no legal distinction between the two, it is useful for educational purposes in how they act. 

Sgt. Dave Gale, head of the Gilbert Police Department’s Street Crimes Unit, which led the gang investigation, said the members of the Goons came from different East Valley cities and attended different schools. They participated in underage drinking and use of illegal drugs and had more of a fight club-type agreement among them. 

“Hybrid gangs are very hard to document as a street gang,” he said. 

Traditional gangs usually have one race or ethnicity and a territory they claim, Gale said. They have their own code of conduct, are proud of their gang affiliation and have a gang color and sign. 

However, hybrid gangs have mixed races, genders and ages and may claim to be part of multiple gangs. They tend to be juveniles, have no code of conduct, hierarchy, specific colors, hand signs or territories, and their name may change as hybrid gangs are always evolving, Gale said. 

“This is done to stall law enforcement on the documentation process,” he said. 

Gale said the investigation involved more than 100 interviews and extensive review of video footage and social media posts.   

Not all of the group teen violence incidents were related to either gang, Soelberg said. 

“There have been numerous media stories that have inaccurately portrayed all of these team violence cases as being Goon-related,” he said. “That could not be further from the truth and continues to spread as misinformation. Additionally, many of these reports also omit key information related to when cases were actually reported to the police departments. In numerous cases, some media reports have omitted the fact that there was a significant delay from when an incident occurred and when it was reported to the police.” 

Lt. Leo Aparacio from the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office also noted how much teen violence is on the news. 

“The bottom line is clear,” he said. “Our youth are struggling, and they need our help. This is why our agencies will continue to partner and work together to combat teen violence moving forward. We also ask that parents and community leaders remain engaged. We cannot solve this problem alone.” 

We would like to invite our readers to submit their civil comments, pro or con, on this issue. Email AZOpinions@iniusa.org. Tom Blodgett can be reached by email at tblodgett@iniusa.org or follow him @sp_blodgett on X.    

Tom Blodgett
Senior News Editor | Gilbert

tblodgett@iniusa.org

Meet Tom
Tom Blodgett joined Independent Newsmedia, Inc., USA, in 2022, when the company acquired Community Impact Newspaper's Phoenix-area properties. Raised in Arizona, he has spent more than 35 years in journalism in the state.

Community: He has served as an instructional professional in the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication since 2005, and is editorial adviser to The State Press, the university's independent student media outlet. He also is director of operations for an 18U girls fastpitch softball team from Gilbert.

Education: Arizona State University with a BS in Journalism. 

Random Fact: He lived in Belgium during his freshman year of high school.  

Hobbies: Tweeting enthusiastically about ASU softball (season-ticket holder) and grumpily about other local sports (pessimistic fan).