MESA, AZ — The family of a Gilbert teen has filed a civil lawsuit in Maricopa County alleging some teens and adults committed “civil conspiracy”.
The complaint also accuses some parents and guardians of “negligent supervision” for not being aware of the “terror campaign.”
This is the second civil complaint filed in less than five days related to teen violence in the East Valley by attorney Richard Lyons.
“A civil conspiracy is two or more people making an agreement to commit an unlawful act. And if one of them goes out and commits that act, then both of them are on the hook for it,” Lyons said.
In the new suit filed Monday, nine people are named. Two of those are minors and the lawsuit names their parents/guardians as well. The other three listed are single adults.
This complaint is on behalf of the mother of a teen victim who was attacked at a Mesa park in May 2023. The suit claims that at least some of those involved in the assault were members of a group known as the “Gilbert Goons”.
“If a group of teenagers agrees that they're going to go beat up unsuspecting, innocent teenagers and circulate those videos on social media, that's the group of them agreeing to a civil conspiracy,” Lyons said.
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Gilbert police along with other local and state agencies are currently investigating to see if the group can be classified as a criminal street gang in Arizona.
The complaint describes a brutal attack that was recorded and posted to social media. The suit also details vicious threats the family says the teen victim received for “more than six months” afterward. The lawsuit alleges that some of those threats were received from burner phones.
At one point, the victim's father stepped in and responded to the burner accounts. The complaint says he, “received threatening texts in return, including several that referenced the murder of Preston Lord”.
The lawsuit goes on to allege the victim and three of his friends were chased in their car at a high rate of speed for about 30 minutes in July of 2023. The complaint says the threats only stopped when one of the teens named in the lawsuit was arrested and held for their alleged involvement in the assault.
The lawsuit accuses the two juveniles and three other single adults of civil conspiracy and intentional infliction of emotional distress. The complaint says, “If the parents of these minors had acted reasonably, the threats, intimidation, and attack on [the victim] never would have occurred.”
The parents are accused of negligent supervision and statutory liability.
“So, under Arizona law, you can be a perfect parent [and] do everything right. But if your child commits a, an act of willful or malicious misconduct, then you're on the hook for the first $10,000 of damage,” Lyons said.
This is a developing story. ABC15 will post updates as they are received.
