GILBERT, AZ — The father of a teen violence victim has filed a formal complaint against dozens of people, including the families of teens, who are alleged to be part of a teen violence group known as the Gilbert Goons.
The civil lawsuit filed in Maricopa County names families of numerous teens and their parents and alleges that the group was part of a civil conspiracy that goes back for more than a year and includes harassing, intimidating, and attacking unsuspecting teenagers.
The complaint was filed on Thursday by Rick Kuehner, who has spoken about his son’s brutal assault at an In-N-Out restaurant in Gilbert in August 2023.
Kuehner’s son's case was reopened in December by the Gilbert Police Department where they posted photos publicly of the attack to help identify the suspects.
Gilbert police have made six arrests in his case.
The suit was filed against 17 different alleged group members and their parents for different attacks that go back a year. It also alleges that there is video evidence that shows all of the minors who are named in the complaint have committed or contributed to assault and battery in public.
Parents and guardians make up 30 names in the suit accusing them of negligent supervision and statutory liability.
Gilbert police and other jurisdictions have made more than two dozen arrests in teen violence cases. The most recent arrests were on Wednesday.
But for months, ABC15 has poured through court documents including juvenile records.
Our Investigators were able to link several of the suspects we’ve seen arrested, together. Some of those include crimes like stealing a safe and multiple aggravated assaults since November 2022.
Thursday,ABC15 asked Gilbert Police Chief Michael Soelberg about potential connections between the suspects. The chief only said in terms of investigating possible gang activity and the group the “Gilbert Goons”, which involves multiple agencies and is still ongoing.
ABC15 reached out to both the Queen Creek and Gilbert police departments due to allegations in the complaint. Gilbert police would only repeat what was said at the news conference. Queen Creek police sent a short statement that said the department could not provide any other information than they previously communicated.
The attorney who filed the complaint turned down ABC15’s interview request.
