Why were 2 minors charged as adults in 'Gilbert Goons' attacks? What does it mean?

Two minors are facing adult criminal charges in connection with "Gilbert Goons" attacks. Why are they being charged that way, and what difference does it make? Here's what to know about juveniles being charged as adults in Arizona.

Jack Woods and Tyler Freeman, both 17, are among the 15 people who have been arrested so far in connection with group attacks on teens in Gilbert, Mesa and Pinal County.

An investigation by The Arizona Republic in December found the Goons gang of teenagers engaged in a string of attacks on other teens in the southeast Valley for more than a year, according to interviews, court and police records, and social media posts.

What accusations do Jack Woods and Tyler Freeman face?

The aggravated assault charges that have been filed against Woods stem from the beating of an adult in Gilbert on Dec. 3, 2023. Gage Garrison, 19, and Kyler Renner, 18, were also charged in connection with the attack.

Woods and others walked up to a man and his friends in a downtown Gilbert parking lot, asking if he had been “jumped” at the Gilbert In-N-Out Burger earlier that night, according to a police record filed in court. The victim and his friends kept walking, but Woods and others followed and launched an attack, according to the police record.

A video of the attack surfaced, and "concerned citizens" identified Woods as an attacker, police said. The police record noted that Woods’ father went to the police station with questions about the attack and made statements about one of the attackers in the video being Woods.

Additional attackers haven't faced arrest or charges, according to a review of the video by The Arizona Republic.

Freeman was charged with aggravated assault in two cases.

Freeman was involved in a group attack on a man in November 2022 and caught on camera using brass knuckles during the attack, according to court records.

He was also charged in connection with a December 2022 attack at the Gilbert In-N-Out. A victim identified Freeman and alleged Freeman sent the victim threatening Snapchat videos, according to court documents.

When can a juvenile be charged as an adult in Arizona?

In Arizona, a person 15 or older must be prosecuted as an adult when they are charged with a violent felony or have a prior felony conviction. Aggravated assault is categorized as a violent felony. Other charges that require adult criminal prosecution include first- and second-degree murder, forcible sexual assault and armed robbery.

There are other situations when a juvenile 14 or older may be charged as an adult at the prosecutor's discretion. These include manslaughter, negligent homicide and non-aggravated assault.

Woods was previously arrested for stealing a safe containing items totaling more than $38,000 from a Chandler home in December 2022. He pled guilty in juvenile court in September.

Freeman was previously charged in connection with two assaults in December 2022, one at a house party and another at the Gilbert In-N-Out Burger. In April, he was sentenced for aggravated robbery and aggravated assault. He acknowledged multiple instances of planning assaults for no reason, according to court records. He was detained for more than three months and then put on probation.

Because Woods' and Freeman's charges fall into the violent felony category, state law says that they must be charged as adults.

How is being charged as an adult different from being charged as a juvenile?

In juvenile court, defendants can have their records sealed or destroyed after they turn 18 if they have no other pending charges and, if convicted, have completed any sentence.

Adult criminal court records remain open to the public in most cases but may be sealed if the defendant was charged with a non-violent offense and meets other requirements, like the completion of the terms and conditions of their sentence.

Juvenile court defendants can also receive individualized sentences, whereas adult court defendants are sentenced based on state law guidelines.

The juvenile system is geared towards rehabilitation, according to Charity Clark, a private defense attorney with 10 years of experience defending minors in adult court.

Maricopa County Attorney Rachell Mitchell echoed that assessment when she recently spoke to the news media about a proposed law that would prohibit minors from possessing guns.

"The purpose of the juvenile court system really is rehabilitation, as it should be," Mitchell said. "And if we don't capture that violent tendency, or the tendency to carry guns around at that level, when they move into 18 years old, it's a completely different story for their lives."

Arizona law doesn't allow a judge hearing the case of a juvenile being charged as an adult to consider the juvenile's age during a trial before a verdict, Clark said.

Prosecutors, however, can consider a juvenile's age when deciding how intensely to pursue a case and the plea deal they offer, she said.

Mitchell, speaking from her experience as a sex crimes prosecutor, said that prosecutors do consider age when putting together a plea offer.

"It was just a factor that I would consider in terms of any sort of offer I would make," Mitchell said. "It's not the predominant factor, but it is a factor."

When minors face adult prosecution, there's also a question of where they will be detained. Minors being charged as adults can be held at a juvenile detention center or a jail for adults. A judge decides where a minor will be held after considering several factors, like the seriousness of the charge, the jail's ability to meet the needs of the minor, the safety of the minor and other inmates, the defendant's age and past criminal record.

Freeman is being housed in a Maricopa County adult jail with other juveniles. Woods was also detained at a county jail for adults until he was released on Jan. 27.

Based on her experience working with juvenile defendants, Clark said she thinks the Gilbert Goons cases have much to do with groupthink.

"I would venture a guess that if you were to take any of these kids individually, the likelihood that any one would have escalated to this level of violence, it's probably completely unthought of," she said.

Putting teenagers susceptible to pressure or influence in a jail or prison with adults can be like lighting a powder keg, she said.

"So what are these kids going to be modeling when they're in custody with adult criminals? Anyone who's in the system knows that our jails and our prisons are hotbeds for drug activity and gang activity," she said.

Clark said she hopes the people in charge of these cases consider that, not just for the sake of the defendants but for the communities that they would be returning to someday, she said.

What other juveniles have been charged in Arizona as adults?

In 2023, Joshua Franklin was 15 years old when he was sentenced to life in prison for killing another 15-year-old over a vape cartridge. The case sparked debate about the harshness of sentencing and racial disparities when juveniles are tried as adults.

In 2018, Arianna Ramirez, 14 at the time of her arrest, was charged as an adult in the shooting death of a 17-year-old. Ramirez later pled guilty to solicitation to commit murder and armed robbery. Her murder charges were dismissed, and she was sentenced to 9 years in prison.

Ares Adle was 14 when he was charged with the murder of his aunt in 2019. His case remains open. His trial is set to start in April. His lawyers are expected to mount a guilty but insane defense, according to court records.

Reach the reporter at miguel.torres@arizonarepublic.com.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Why were 2 minors charged as adults in 'Gilbert Goons' attacks?