On October 28, 2023, Queen Creek police responded to a neighborhood where they found 16-year-old Preston Lord lying in the roadway. He died two days later at a hospital. His death sparked a push from the community for local law enforcement to dig deeper into Lord's death and other assaults that may be linked to the “Gilbert Goons.”
Around this time, several other incidents came to light in the East Valley involving separate teen violence occurrences.
In mid-December, the Gilbert Police Department finally acknowledged it was made aware of the Gilbert Goons through social media references and is working with other agencies to determine if the group can be labeled as a criminal street gang.
ABC15 is taking action to get the answers needed as teen violence incidents occur in the East Valley. Follow our latest coverage here.
On January 10 several arrests were announced in connection to the cases by the Gilbert Police Department and Pinal County Sheriff's Office.
On different dates in late November, 17-year-old Hailey Stephens was shot and killed at a Casa Grande house party, and 17-year-old Jamiere Jenkins was killed in San Tan Valley, in unrelated cases. Suspects in both of those cases have been arrested. Authorities have not linked these cases to Preston Lord or the Gilbert Goons investigation.
Scroll through the interactive timeline below to see all of the known events surrounding the recent violence in the East Valley. Having trouble viewing, click here.