Gilbert Chief: ‘We did everything we could’

By Jason W. Brooks
Mail | X: @JasonWBrooks2

Gilbert Police Chief Michael Soelberg says his department is doing the best it can in investigating high-profile recent teen violence cases.

It’s simply a matter of having the right information at the right times.

In a one-hour news conference Jan. 18, Soelberg made a brief statement about the recent surge in teen violence in the East Valley, the name Gilbert Goons and that alleged group’s involvement and the death of teen Preston Lord in nearby Queen Creek.

“In the absence of hearing directly from me, inaccurate information has continued to proliferate,” Soelberg began. “These recent incidents of teen violence have instilled fear and brought forth more questions on how something like this could happen in our community.”

The chief said while overall crime is trending down in Gilbert, violent crime is on the rise both locally and nationally, among both teens and adults.
Soelberg explained one of the reasons his department might seem late to respond to the uptick in teen violence is that it had been sporadic until the past several months and without a real pattern to it.

“Between Feb. 2022 and Preston’s (Oct. 30, 2023) death, we had 13 arrests related to teen violence,” he said. “Since Jan. 3, we’ve made nine such arrests, and there will be more, thanks in part to the victims, their families, and others who have reported teen violence.”

Lord was beaten at a Halloween party during the overnight hours of Oct. 28 and died at a hospital two days later. No arrests have been made in that homicide, though law enforcement agencies have announced arrests in other high-profile violent crimes in involving teens since then. He said teen violence only accounted for 0.7% of calls for service in 2023.

Soelberg took a variety of questions about how his department operates, including one about the idea of a cover-up to protect certain teens or families.

“There was no cover-up and we’re not asleep at the wheel,” Soelberg said. “Our officers out on the street and behind the scenes are actively working leads. That’s how we got the 13 arrests. We work on these cases and all others in the community, collaborating with other agencies and using all applicable technology.”

Soelberg said all of the information his department received about the so-called “Gilbert Goons” occurred after Lord’s death. He said he’s looking into whether the Goons can be formally classified as a violent street gang.

“We appreciate the use of our tip line, and continue to encourage people to tell us about where teen violence is happening or could potentially happen,” he said.
The chief said spotting the patterns and finding common perpetrators aren’t elements investigators had found with the 13 arrests and associated incidents leading up to Oct. 28.

“As we looked at those incidents, there was never an association with the Gilbert Goons or any other group,” Soelberg said. “We had no cause or reason to connect those to that activity because we weren’t aware of the Goons at that time. In some cases, the people fighting knew each other. We did everything we could do with those cases.”

Soelberg said he understands the public’s and the victim’s families’ desire for police to move quickly and identify, charge and arrest suspects. But he said probable cause and the likelihood of criminal convictions are always factors, as are the large amounts of time needed to collect and examine evidence.

The chief said some confusion occurred the week of Jan. 9 after the arrest of 18-year-old Christopher Fantastic for an August attack on another teen at the Gilbert In-N-Out Burger. Soelberg said a detective filled out a victim’s rights form, listing Fantastic, another adult and two juveniles in the same column — a column for people already in custody.

“When you guys were at the press conference with the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office, asking about the other arrestees, we were still out looking for them,” Soelberg said. “We didn’t want to broadcast that they weren’t in custody. We wanted to take them in safely.”

While the three other suspects were arrested the following afternoon, the damage was done, Soelberg said, in terms of a confused media and public.
Soelberg said more teen violence arrests are yet to come.

“Each case is different, and it takes time to figure out if and how they’re related,” he said.

We’d like to invite our readers to submit their civil comments on this topic. Email AZOpinions@iniusa.org.  Jason W. Brooks can be reached at jbrooks@iniusa.org.

Jason W. Brooks
News Editor | Chandler Independent

Jason W. Brooks joined Independent Newsmedia, Inc., USA, in July 2021 as an associate editor. After a year covering Buckeye, he has covered Chandler since the fall of 2022, in addition to assisting the Daily Independent throughout his time at INI.

Education: University of New Mexico, bachelor of arts in journalism and mass communication, print emphasis, English minor.

Random Fact: He and his siblings witnessed a Space Shuttle launch and landing in the same year in person, on opposite coasts.

Hobbies: Karaoke, bicycling and American Sign Language.

Community: He supports animal shelters.