Teens accused in East Valley violence case agree to plea deals

At least three teens involved in East Valley teen violence cases have decided to take plea deals and change their plea to guilty. Two cases involve assaults in Maricopa County and one case stems from Pinal County.

ABC15 reporters Nicole Grigg, Ashley Holden, and Melissa Blasius are covering developments surrounding teen violence in the southeast Valley. Have a tip? Email us at investigators@abc15.com.

Deleon Haynes

Court documents show that Deleon Haynes has decided to plead guilty to aggravated assault. He was arrested, along with five others, for an assault at the Gilbert In-N-Out restaurant back in August 2023.

The victim in that case was Rick Kuehner's son. The case was eventually inactive until mid-December when ABC15 started asking Gilbert Police questions.

Haynes' sentencing is scheduled for June.

Jacob Pennington 

Jacob Pennington is accused in two cases, one in Maricopa County and the other in Pinal County. The 20-year-old was arrested in connection to an assault in December of 2022. This attack again took place at the Gilbert In-N-Out, which has been the location of multiple teen violence cases. Court documents show Pennington has agreed to plead guilty to aggravated assault in this case. His sentencing is set for June.

Pennington is also accused in an assault that happened in Pinal County, near Wagon Wheel Road and Sun Dance Drive in San Tan Valley back in November. ABC15 has requested the plea agreement from the county, but county officials confirmed Pennington has agreed to plead guilty to aggravated assault. His sentencing in that case is also set for June.

Deputies with the Pinal County Sheriff's Office noted in court documents that Pennington admitted to being a part of the Gilbert Goons.

Earlier in May, Gilbert Police announced that the group could be classified as a gang. Police Chief Michael Soelberg said they were a hybrid gang along with a group known as Jack Boy Mafia (JBM). Police would not say who were members of the gang or what teen violence cases members had ties to. Chief Soelberg said they did not have enough evidence for additional charges.

Garret Bagshaw

The 18-year-old is the co-defendant in the same Pinal County case that Pennington is accused in. County officials told ABC15 he agreed to plead guilty to aggravated assault, but he would have the chance for diversion.

ABC15 was the only station in court when he and Pennington were arraigned back in January. At that time, Bagshaw's attorney gave ABC15 a motion he filed that said there was no evidence suggesting a connection between Bagshaw and Gilbert Goons.

Preston Lord Case 

Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell joined ABC15's news partners KTAR Monday and was asked about these plea deals.

She wanted to make clear that the suspects being discussed were not those accused in the murder of Preston Lord. The 16-year-old was beaten at a Halloween Party in Queen Creek and later died. Seven suspects were arrested and charged in March for his death.

"Let me be very clear, these are not related charges that are related to Preston Lord's death," said County Attorney Mitchell. "These are in other situations. Two of them are Maricopa County cases and one of them is from Pinal County."

But last week ABC15 learned the County Attorney's office was going to make evidence in other teen violence cases available to the attorneys representing the seven defendants accused in Preston Lord's murder.

17-year-old suspect

Court records show a juvenile suspect accused in the assault from Aug. 18, 2023, at the Gilbert In-N-Out has "admitted" to aggravated assault. The wording is slightly different since this played out in juvenile court.

Those same records show the teen, who we are not naming, will be on probation until next April.

Two other suspects in that same case, Christopher Fantastic and Arris Arredondo, are both due back in court Thursday morning.

Fantastic is also accused in a second assault out of Mesa.

On Wednesday Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell answered questions about plea deals and the teen violence cases now moving through the courts.

ABC15 is reviewing all of the teen violence cases we have been tracking and will provide updates as the cases move through the courts.