Members of a wealthy Arizona gang known as the “Gilbert Goons” were arrested last week in connection with a string of violent attacks caught on video on teenagers.
Authorities in Gilbert, Arizona arrested two men for their involvement in a high school student hit-and-run Wednesday, and warned additional arrests may be coming, the Arizona Republic reported.
The so-called “Gilbert Goons” have been terrorizing the community for more than a year, and were reportedly involved in the October 28 fatal beating of Preston Lord, a 16-year-old who was killed during a Halloween party.
Authorities arrested Jacob Pennington, 21, in connection with the brutal videotaped beating of a 16-year-old high school student on Nov. 19, which occurred just two weeks after Lord’s death.
The “Gilbert Goons” have reportedly been terrorizing the community for over a year. Fox 10
Mobile phone footage shows a group of attackers surrounding the victim, taking turns hitting and knocking the boy down as he tries to escape.
The attackers chased the victim and hit him with their feet and fists, knocking him into the concrete, the video showed.
The unidentified boy, who suffered minor injuries, could not identify his attacker, police said. According to the Republic, Pennington has been identified in at least one other videotaped attack.
Video of the attack shows a group surrounding the victim and taking turns knocking them down. Fox 10
Police on Wednesday also confirmed the arrest of Christopher Fantastic, 18, who was involved in the beating of a 16-year-old boy on August 18 at the Gilbert In-N-Out Burger.
Fantastic faces assault and robbery charges and is being held on $25,000 bond, according to the Republic.
Christopher Fantastic, 18, was arrested Wednesday in connection with the Aug. 18 beating of a 16-year-old. Fox 10
There were other accomplices in the case, prosecutors said Wednesday, noting the attack was one of several in Gilbert carried out by a group of people including Fantastic.
Records reviewed by The Republic show three other people were cited Tuesday in the attack and released.
One of those mentioned, Aris Arredondo, was listed as an adult while the other two were juveniles.
Aris Arredondo was cited in the attack and released. Fox 10
In the wake of Fantastic’s arrest, Gilbert City Council on Tuesday created a subcommittee to investigate youth violence, with Mayor Brigette Petersen saying the issue has “devastated” her.
Most of the gang attacks were unleashed in Gilbert and included similar victims and many of the same perpetrators, who would later share photos and videos of the beatings online, according to reports.
Police said they never linked the attack because the victim never mentioned the gang. The group also does not have any police reports linking them to criminal activities.
Gilbert Police Chief Michael Soelberg said officers are investigating nine active youth violence investigations, four of which are reopened cases.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
