Gilbert police made 22 arrests in January related to teen-on-teen violence, and more are coming, perhaps even if victims do not wish to aid in prosecution, Chief Michael Soelberg said.
Gilbert police have four cases where they could make an arrest but victims who have come forward have not wanted to assist in prosecutions for different reasons, Soelberg said during his weekly news conference Feb. 1.
“And that’s within their rights,” he said. “But what I would say to any of those individuals or anyone else listening is that we can only prosecute those who we can establish probable cause. We need the assistance. Now in some cases we can proceed with charges without the victim, and in some cases we are looking to do that.”
The department and the prosecutor’s office have victims’ advocates to help victims feel safe from retaliation, Soelberg said, and police will work with them on getting information from them.
“Even if we don't proceed with the case, if we can gather intelligence and information about the individuals that are doing these crimes, we may be able to help connect other cases, even though that one may not proceed,” he said.
Soelberg said much of the credit for the spike of arrests goes to the public.
“The community tips and media support are what's driving this new information and allowing us to make these arrests,” he said.
The latest arrests came Wednesday when 20-year-old Jacob Pennington, 18-year-old William Owen Hines and a 17-year-old juvenile were arrested in connection with an alleged assault reported to have occurred on Dec. 2, 2022, near Williams Field Road and South Market Street.
Additionally, Hines and a 17-year-old juvenile were arrested in connection with an assault outside a residence at Higley and Riggs roads Nov. 22, 2022, and a 17-year-old juvenile was arrested in connection with a parking garage assault at 72 W. Vaughn Ave. on Dec. 3, 2022.
All of the suspects were charged with two counts of aggravated assault, and the 17-year-old juvenile in the parking garage assault also was charged with one count of kidnapping.
Pennington also had been arrested previously in connection with a Pinal County assault case. He was out on bond when arrested again Jan. 31.
Those cases are among the nine under active investigation from the Gilbert Police Department, Soelberg said.
Of the nine, two are threat cases, three are assaults at the In-and-Out Burger parking lot on Market Street and four are assaults at other locations in town.
“Our goal, as I said, our No. 1 priority is to maintain the safety of our community, and we need the public’s help in doing so,” Soelberg said.
Soelberg said one of the nine cases was received just last week and involved a group fight that included some of the individuals at whom police have been looking.
Police also received a report of a fight last weekend with five kids attacking another kid at a park, but the individuals involved there were different than the ones at whom police have been looking, Soelberg said.
Soelberg has been present for the two meetings of the Gilbert Town Council Subcommittee on Youth Violence to give updates and listen to public comment, which ranged Jan. 31 from criticism of him for lacking empathy to praise for the department’s quick work to make arrests after getting new information.
The public’s input has been appreciated, said Soelberg, who added that he understands criticism comes with the role he is in.
“I don't take any of it personally,” he said. “It's all about the safety of our community. I understand people are frustrated, and they want answers, and we are trying to provide as much information as quickly as we can.”
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.
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).
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