Residents demand Gilbert police chief resign amid 'Goons' controversy

Gilbert residents in a letter demanded the immediate resignation of Police Chief Michael Soelberg and Mayor Brigette Peterson, citing “negligence and inaction” related to ongoing investigations into the “Gilbert Goons.”

“For four long months, we’ve given you the chance to stand up and be leaders. Instead, you’ve chosen to punish those who’ve come together in anger due to the police’s failure to make our community safe for our teens,” reads the letter posted Tuesday on the Lily Waterfield Facebook page, which has become a beacon for calls of justice for victims of the Goons.

It’s a call to action by Gilbert parents Kristine Brennan and Angela Rogers, who run the Lily Waterfield page, to flood Soelberg and Peterson’s email inboxes with the demand.

An investigation by The Arizona Republic in December 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.

Gilbert Police Chief Michael Soelberg has said officers never had 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.

Sixteen people have been arrested so far in connection with group attacks on teens in Gilbert, Mesa and Pinal County.

Parents remain unsatisfied that leadership has done enough, claiming police have “turned a blind eye to the kids who continue to pose a threat.”

“Every day that law enforcement chooses to target scared, terrified parents instead of the violent teens terrorizing our youth brings us one day closer to another senseless beating or the next tragedy of a teen murdered,” the letter reads.

Brennan told The Arizona Republic the police department has begun to go after parents for doxing, an act to publish private information about a person as a form of punishment or revenge.

The Republic has not independently verified these claims. Gilbert police cited one resident, accusing the person of publishing the address of someone who had no connection to the Goons cases, according to police records reviewed by the Republic. Other claims of doxing remain, for now, unsubstantiated.

Assistant Chief Jim Bisceglie, who heads the department’s investigations bureau, gave a brief statement at Tuesday’s Town Council meeting. Soelberg did not attend Tuesday's meeting to give the council and public a biweekly update, as he had over the past several months.

Bisceglie addressed the doxing claims, saying one arrest has been made related to the issue, with others pending. He called it irresponsible and said it would not be tolerated by the Gilbert police.

Peterson announced on Jan. 25 she was suspending her re-election campaign and in an internal email to the town vowed to stay in office until the end of her term.

“Step down now, or we’ll make sure our voices are heard even louder,” the last line in the letter reads.

Residents petition the council

A dozen residents attended Gilbert's council meeting wearing orange.

Peterson's announcement that Gilbert's iconic water tower for two days would be lit orange in solidarity with Preston Lord's family and other victims of teen violence was met with applause from residents. This fulfills a request they made in previous meetings. Some residents pleaded for additional days.

Katey McPherson told the council she had reached out to the council about the simmering teen violence in the town in 2023, before Lord's death. Ninety days later, she said she doesn't see a plan to address the ongoing issue.

Brennan, during public comment, pushed back against Peterson's previous comments that she had been unaware of community events for Lord because Brennan had made her aware of the Dec. 27 community march.

"Kindly do the right thing" and resign, she said.

Reporter Maritza Dominguez covers Mesa, Gilbert and Queen Creek and can be reached at maritza.dominguez@arizonarepublic.com or 480-271-0646. Follow her on X, formerly Twitter: @maritzacdom.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Residents demand Gilbert police chief resign amid 'Goons' controversy