Gilbert police shelved teen attack despite suspect interview on day of incident

Gilbert police shelved an investigation into an August beating outside In-N-Out Burger even though on the night of the attack they interviewed a suspect the victim identified.

Last week, roughly five months after the attack on Richard Kuehner's teenage son, the 16-year-old suspect Gilbert police spoke to the night of the attack was arrested. Two adults, Christopher Fantastic and Aris Arredondo, and another juvenile were also arrested in the attack.

When the 16-year-old was first interviewed by police, officials were "unable" to establish probable cause, Gilbert police spokesperson Sgt. Lorenzo Teruya told The Arizona Republic in an email Wednesday.

The arrests followed an investigation by The Arizona Republic that found the "Gilbert Goons," a gang of mostly affluent teenagers, had engaged in a string of attacks on other teens in the southeast Valley for more than a year.

Most attacks occurred in Gilbert. Parents, students and community activists say members of the Goons were involved in the Oct. 28 fatal beating of 16-year-old Preston Lord at a Halloween party in Queen Creek.

One Goon arrested last week told police he was associated with the group and that the moniker was created in a Snapchat group chat, court records state.

Gilbert Police Chief Michael Soelberg said officers never connected the attacks because victims did not specifically mention the gang. Victims since have referred to their attackers as being associated with the Goons, according to the department. Gilbert police have opened multiple investigations related to what officials there describe as "teen violence" cases.

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Court records detail Gilbert police interview shortly after attack

On the night of Aug. 18, Kuehner's teenage son came home from the Gilbert In-N-Out Burger bleeding profusely and was visibly shaken, Kuehner previously told The Republic. Goons attacked him, and it was filmed, he said.

When police were called that night, Kuehner's son told them the name of a 16-year-old involved in the attack, court records state. That juvenile has since been arrested.

His son began receiving threats from the juvenile weeks after enrolling at Perry High School in Gilbert. The juvenile reportedly sent a picture of a gun to him and went to his house, court records state. Kuehner's son said he reported the threats to his school resource officer, which made "multiple subjects" mad, according to court records.

The juvenile was interviewed on the night of the attack by police, court records state. He told police a video of the attack was recorded by a girl he did not know, and it was sent to him in a group chat that included everyone involved.

In the video, which the juvenile provided to police, multiple people were seen punching, kicking, and stomping on Kuehner's son while he was on the ground and used his arms to try and shield the blows, court records state.

Fighting, stomping, guns: Mom compiles 'Gilbert Goons' social media video, images

When the 16-year-old showed the video to police, he pointed himself out as "running to go watch" the fight, according to court records. It was clear the juvenile ran up to the group while they assaulted Kuehner's son, police noted. The juvenile had his arms raised, stood in a "bladed stance," and appeared to be preparing to participate in the assault, according to court records.

The juvenile pointed Arredondo out in the video and said he initiated the attack on Keuhner's son, court records state. He did not identify Arredondo by name.

The video ended while Kuehner's son was on the ground, and the assailants started to disperse, court records state. One unidentified person was seen taking the victim's shoes.

Kuehner's son sustained multiple injuries to his mouth, which was visibly swollen, according to court records. He did not sustain any serious physical injuries, the records state.

Kuehner told The Republic he filed a police report. Kuehner confirmed with the Perry school resource officer that his son was the victim in the video, and he was told the video was sent to other officers at East Valley high schools to see if officers at those locations recognized any of the kids.

By mid-December, his case was listed as "inactive pending investigative leads."

Attack investigation inactive for more than two months

The threats to Kuehner's son continued after the attack and he no longer felt safe when leaving the house, Kuehner told The Republic. Kuehner said he had to make the tough decision to withdraw his son from school and send him overseas to live with his mom. His son suffers from post-traumatic stress as a result of the incident, he said.

Court records do not state what investigative action Gilbert police undertook between the night of the incident and late December.

Although police identified the 16-year-old suspect through witness and victim interviews, Teruya said, others involved in the attack were not identified shortly after the attack. Suspects still could not be established after the attack video circulated between school resource officers, Teruya said. The case was made inactive on Oct. 2.

The case was reopened in mid-December, Teruya said, as a "result of looking further into teen violence cases." On Dec. 22, Gilbert police took to social media to ask for the community's help identifying the attackers. Police posted still images from the attack video.

Two days later, Arredondo willingly went to police and agreed to participate in a non-custodial interview about his involvement in the attack, court records state. He told police he did not participate in the fight but said he was one of the individuals depicted in the video stills.

Teen arrested tells police he used victim's shoes to 'skate'

In recent weeks, police received multiple tips that helped them identify Fantastic and Arredondo, court records state.

One tip included a screenshot from a TikTok video posted the afternoon of Aug. 18 that depicted Fantastic wearing the same clothes as in the assault video, court records state. The TikTok appeared to be taken in a shopping center parking lot, and he was standing near a truck with an In-N-Out drink cup on it. Police also used screenshots from Arredondo's social media accounts to identify him, court records state.

Kuehner's son told police Arredondo was the one who punched him in the mouth and initiated the altercation, court records state.

Fantastic was identified by police as one of the individuals who punched, kicked, and stomped on Kuehner's son during the attack, according to court records. Arredondo was identified as the one who flexed his arms and yelled multiple times at the camera, "Which one of y'all homies want it too?"

Fantastic declined to speak with police post-Miranda and asked for a lawyer, according to court records.

Arredondo did speak after being read his rights. He told police the 16-year-old reached out to a mutual friend while Arredondo and the friend were driving, court records state. The juvenile claimed someone was going to "jump" him, and he needed a ride.

When Arredondo arrived at the In-N-Out, he got into a verbal altercation with Kuehner's son, according to court records. Arredondo said he did not know Kuehner's son. He told police that during the altercation, he did not physically hit Kuehner's son, but he did make a flinching motion with his arm while he was a few feet away as if he intended to strike him. Arredondo told police he did not engage further with Kuehner's son and left the scene.

Later that night, Arredondo said an unknown person gave Kuehner's son's shoes to him in downtown Gilbert, court records state. He said the individual did so because they did not fit him. Arredondo told police he wore the shoes and used them to "skate" in the following months but no longer had them.

In his interview with police, Arredondo said he knew Fantastic and the 16-year-old, according to court records. Gilbert police arrested a second 16-year-old in connection with the assault, but their involvement is not detailed in court records.

Gilbert police say they are still investigating who else was involved in the Aug. 18 case.

The department has a total of nine investigations related to teen violence, according to its website. Four are reopened investigations. The others were previously unreported.

Elena Santa Cruz is a criminal justice reporter for The Republic. Reach her at elena.santacruz@gannett.com or 480-466-2265. Follow her on X @ecsantacruz3.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Gilbert police shelved teen attack despite interviewing suspect