By james art 
‘Goons’: Republican video details Preston Lord death, Gilbert assaults
Since Preston Lord was killed in 2023, the Republic has been following the news of his death and explaining its connection to the “Gilbert Goons”.
An 18-year-old was visibly shaken in court after prosecutors detailed what he did during and after the Gilbert Guns knuckleball attacks that left teenagers in hospital.
During a sentencing hearing Friday, prosecutors showed videos of a beating involving Tyler Freeman and released recorded jailhouse phone calls in which he joked about raping teenagers in juvenile detention, planned revenge on others and cursed at Preston Lord.
“Tell him I said (expletive) Preston Lord,” Freeman said in a conversation this year, referring to the 16-year-old boy fatally beaten in a gang attack on Oct. 28, 2023. “He’s (expletive).”
Freeman apologized in court and said the man he was then is not the man he is now. The videos and phone calls were uncomfortable to watch, he said.
“I want to be a better person,” Freeman said. “I want to be able to prove to the victims that I’m a changed person. And I’m really sorry for what I did.”
Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Bruce Cohen gave Freeman a hearing and sentenced him to three years in prison followed by four years of intensive probation in connection with two late 2022 assaults.
“You didn’t pay attention to those you loved, those you hurt. You didn’t pay attention to your family and the pain that is so obvious that they have suffered,” Cohen told him. “You showed no consideration for all the people in Gilbert who are suffering.
A December investigation by The Arizona Republic first linked Lord’s killing to the Goons, a gang of teenagers who recorded their brutal attacks on teenagers in parks and garages, outside fast food restaurants and at house parties. They shared footage in group chats and on social media.
The attacks, mostly in Gilbert, went unchecked by authorities for more than a year.
Freeman was supported in court by his family, who solemnly shook their heads as prosecutors presented the evidence.
His mother told Cohen her son’s life had spiraled during the attacks, but said he was a good man who now wanted a fresh start.
“What happened was horrible, but he took responsibility,” Dawn Freeman said, choking back tears. “I know his heart.”
Cohen asked Freeman to explain some of the comments he made during the prison talks, including the one about Lorde.
Freeman said he became angry after his ex-girlfriend told him another person had assaulted him. The man was friends with God, he said, so he wanted to explode. Freeman admitted he shouldn’t have said it – at the time he thought it would make him feel better.
Freeman also explained the origins of the Goons, which authorities classify as a criminal street gang. Freeman described it as a friendly group.
He made some friends in middle school, he said, and wanted to impress them because they had drugs. They continued to hang out in high school and he said they liked him more after he and others got into a fight.
I liked the attention I was getting, Freeman said.
Everything changed for him after he learned what it was like to be knuckled, he said, and heard that the victim of a knuckle attack, Connor Jarnaghan, had forgiven him.
“When I heard that, I remember just crying because if the roles were reversed, I wouldn’t forgive myself,” Freeman said. “I would try to get revenge.”
Police in Gilbert have been unable to link the beating of a teenager to a group of attackers
Freeman was convicted in 2023 of two attacks that Gilbert police were unable to link to the bandits.
Police and prosecutors treated Freeman as a lone assailant in the two brass knuckles incidents, although reports at the time noted that the attacks involved groups of teenagers.
At the time, police said Freeman carried out “unprovoked attacks” on random strangers with his friends. The teenager also admitted “multiple incidents of leaving home with a plan to attack people for no reason.”
Freeman was detained for nearly three months before being placed on probation and ordered to spend five months in a mental institution.
A report obtained by The Republic in June indicated that Gilbert police investigating Freeman’s attacks received evidence that the thugs had bragged about attacking “30+” people in the months before Lord was killed, but dismissed it as groundless.
Prosecutors shared some of that evidence — Snapchat messages — during Friday’s hearing. These include Freeman telling his friends that they should start killing cops and become an official gang already.
Freeman is convicted of Goons attacks at a house party, In-N-Out Burger
Freeman’s attorney said his client’s case is unusual because the new arrests overlap with his juvenile rehabilitation efforts. Freeman was making progress in his recovery when he was arrested and charged as an adult in other battery cases, he said.
“He’s being punished for something that predates all the work he’s done and all the crimes he’s committed that brought him to juvenile court, which is not the usual way forward,” Gregory Zamora said after the hearing.
Police arrested Freeman this year in connection with four beatings since 2022, but he was charged in only two. He pleaded guilty in August to both counts.
“Gilbert Goons” house party bash November 2022: 4 arrests
Nine people attacked a teenager outside a house party near Higley and Riggs roads. Brass knuckles are used. Four people were arrested in January 2024.
On November 22, 2022, a victim was beaten after asking several people to leave a house party in Gilbert. The attack was filmed and nine people can be seen surrounding the teenager, taking turns punching and kicking him.
The assault was not reported until January 4, 2024. Police arrested Freeman, William Owen Hines, 18, Jacob Meisner, 17, and Kyler Renner, 19. Hines did not enter a confession; Meissner admitted his role and received probation. Renner has not been charged.
Hines and Meissner are among seven charged with first-degree murder and kidnapping in Lord’s murder. All pleaded not guilty.
Freeman was also charged with assault on Dec. 2, 2022, in the Gilbert In-N-Out Burger parking lot.
This beating was also recorded. In one clip, Freeman taunts someone in a fight, saying, “Pull me up, (expletive).” He starts throwing multiple punches as others interfere. Another 26-second clip captures the victim being dragged, pushed and punched by multiple assailants among a crowd of teenagers.
‘Gilbert Goons’ In-N-Out gang beatdown, December 2022: 3 arrests
Seven people are involved in an attack that left many victims injured. Brass knuckles are used. Three people were arrested in January 2024.
Police responded to a report of a fight that night, but left after saying they could find no evidence of a fight. They launched a new investigation in January after receiving videos of the attack.
Three people told police they were assaulted in the gang attack, but only one was ready to press charges. He said Freeman was wearing caps.
Freeman, Hines and 21-year-old Jacob Pennington were arrested and charged in the attack. Hines pleaded not guilty, and Pennington pleaded guilty and received three years’ probation.
Cohen convicted Freeman separately on each count of battery.
In the house party attack, he ordered Freeman to serve three years for attempted assault and to serve 2 1/2 years concurrently for aggravated assault.
For the In-N-Out attack, Cohen sentenced Freeman to four years of intensive probation after his release from prison.
The judge told Freeman he was lucky in one respect.
“I think you’re lucky that you’re not one of the co-defendants in another case that I have in front of me who face far more significant outcomes,” Cohen said. “It’s not for lack of effort because your behavior could easily have caused death. Just as their behavior did.’
Elena Santa Cruz is a criminal justice reporter for The Republic. Contact her at [email protected]. Follow her on X @ecsantacruz3.
Robert Anglen is an investigative reporter for The Republic. Contact him at [email protected]. Follow him to X @robertanglen.