By james art An 18-year-old accused of using brass knuckles in multiple violent attacks on teenagers was sentenced to years in custody on Friday morning.
Tyler Freeman pleaded guilty to two counts of aggravated assault, one stemming from an attack at a party and the other at a Gilbert In-N-Out. In court, Judge Bruce Cohen heard from prosecutors, Freeman’s family and Freeman himself. Judge Cohen also watched video of those assaults and heard shocking jailhouse phone calls that prosecutors say Freeman made while in custody.
NOVEMBER 2022 ATTACK
Freeman was arrested earlier this year for multiple attacks dating back to 2022.
The first in November of that year at a house party on the edge of Gilbert and Queen Creek, near Higley and Riggs roads. ABC15 spoke with the victim, Dale Jorgensen, in February, shortly after he reported the assault to police.
“The party got a little out of hand, so I told people to leave,” Jorgensen said. “I went to a group of kids and told them they had to leave.
But he said the situation escalated quickly.
“That’s when they turned on me,” Jorgensen said. “From there it went from one, two guys swinging at me to eight guys swinging at me in a circle. I just remember a guy throwing items at me [and] one hit me on the top of the head.”
Dale told ABC15 he felt called to come forward after Preston Lord’s death. Several arrests were made weeks later, including Freeman, William Owen Hines, Kyler Renner and Jacob Meisner.
Renner had just been sentenced to two years in prison for three separate cases, including one involving the abuse of teenagers. At last check, his performance in that raid was still under review. ABC15 has reached out to the Maricopa County Prosecutor’s Office for an update.
Hines and Meissner are charged with murder in the death of Preston Lord.
RELATED: ABC15 speaks with Queen Creek police chief one year after Preston Lord’s death
DECEMBER 2022 STURAM
Both Hines and Freeman were also arrested in a separate raid stemming from December 2022 at a Gilbert In-N-Out. Jacob Pennington was also charged in the assault and was sentenced to probation in June.
Prosecutors said in court that at least one victim did not want to help with the prosecution out of fear.
NOVEMBER 2024 JUDGMENT
In court, prosecutors called Freeman the “instigator” and leader of those attacks. They told the judge he used knuckles and showed videos of the brutal attacks.
They also showed Snapchat messages from the accused to other people, including suspected teen abusers. Those messages included threats directed at the police and Freeman specifically telling people that their group was making the streets of Gilbert “unsafe.”
Prosecutors told the judge they believed Freeman had not changed and released a series of phone calls made while the teenager was in custody. In those calls, Freeman was heard threatening people with violence after he was released, insulting Preston Lord and joking about using violence while in custody.
Freeman’s mother addressed the judge and told him her son was a good man whose life was turned upside down two years ago.
“He wants a fresh start,” Dawn Freeman said. “What happened was terrible, but he took responsibility.”
Freeman’s attorney said his client was on a better path before he was arrested for those assaults. The teenager also spoke out and apologized for his actions and said the calls did not show the remorse he had.
Judge Cohen asked Freeman a series of questions about the calls and his intentions. He also asked Freeman if he was part of the Gilbert Goons.
Freeman initially said no and then described it as a “friend group”.
The group was the focus of a multi-agency investigation led by Gilbert police. In May, the department said they were classified as a hybrid criminal street gang. However, Gilbert Police Chief Michael Soelberg said there was insufficient evidence to warrant gang charges.
So far, no one arrested in East Valley teen abuse cases has faced gang charges.
Judge Cohen spent some time speaking directly to Freeman as he sentenced the teenager.
“You paid no attention to those you hurt,” Judge Cohen said.
He ultimately sentenced Freeman to two and a half years and three years for the two cases, but those sentences will run concurrently. The judge also said Freeman will also receive credit for 268 days.
Freeman’s attorney, Gregory Zamora, said after court rehabilitation for his client has already begun. He insisted the teenager wants to have a family and serve his community in the future.
“It was unfortunate that it was involved in a case that had nothing to do with the Lord family,” Zamora said.
The teenager’s lawyer said the phone call was “shocking”, but Freeman said he was joking.
He told ABC15 he doesn’t believe it was intended to cause grief to Lord’s family because it was made during what Freeman believed to be a private conversation.
