Inside the Arizona town where a ruthless gang of teens ran amok: 'Gilbert Goons' had parents terrified to send their kids to school before beating death of Preston Lord

It's billed as one of the safest places to raise children in America. But on the outskirts of Phoenix, Arizona, parents say sending their kids to class is like waving soldiers off to war. 

The Chandler Unified school district in Arizona has been sued by dozens of parents who claim their children have been harassed, seriously injured, driven out of the country and even to suicide by violent bullies allowed to run wild. 

Some attackers are allegedly members of a gang of teens who call themselves the Gilbert Goons and have terrorized Phoenix suburbs since as far back as 2022.

The teens' reign of violence, which allegedly included armed robberies and dozens of assaults at parties and in parking lots - several with brass knuckles - culminated with the fatal beating of Preston Lord, 16, at a Halloween party on October 28.

But DailyMail.com can now reveal how parents were terrified for their kids' safety long before Lord's tragic death.  

It's billed as one of America's best places to raise children, but the killing of Preston Lord, 16, has highlighted a concerning issue of teen violence in Arizona suburbs

Kuehner says he still can't watch the video of his son's beating at the In-N-Out in Gilbert

Several of the teenage murder suspects had previously been accused of assaults connected to the Goons, with some in the community saying that authorities' inaction on the teenage violent group could have led to Lord's death. 

Rick Kuehner told DailyMail.com he had been fighting school and police regarding Goon's violence officials for months after his son was brutally beaten at an In N Out parking lot following weeks of alleged harassment by the Goons.

In a lawsuit against the school officials, Goon suspects and their parents, Kuehner claims he received no help from officials and was forced to send his son overseas after he continued receiving threats from the teen delinquents. 

Kuehner had already transferred his son from Campo Verde high school to the nearby Perry High school due to alleged bullying. But within one week of starting at the new school, his son received the first threat.

The father said: 'I thought it'd be a new beginning, but school started on July 19 of 2023, and literally a week after that he received his first threat from a kid from the old school, saying something to the fact that he "had a big mouth" and "my boys are going to jump you."'

Having gone through bullying at the previous school, Kuehner said he took immediate action and contacted Perry High school authorities regarding the threats, which were sent on Snapchat.

The first threat received by Kuehner's son after transferring to Perry high school 

Some of the threats against his son included images of weapons, according to Kuehner's suit

Kuehner had transferred his son to Perry high school in hopes of a new beginning for him

Rick Kuehner told DailyMail.com he had been fighting school and police regarding Goon's violence officials for months after his son was brutally assaulted

The Goons' reign of terror: DailyMail.com can reveal how the gang of youngsters ran amok in the Arizona town before Preston Lord's death in October

One of Kuehner's son's alleged attackers is seen above 

Kuehner recalled: 'The first thing I did is I went to vice principal [Kevin Ames] because he oversees the 11th graders ... I reported it immediately because I've already been through this, and I'm not going to go through it again.

'And I specifically told him, "hey, it's not a matter of if this happens, a matter of when. And I want to make sure I'm letting everybody know that needs to know about this."'

Following the initial Snapchat threats, two students allegedly began threatening and taunting Kuehner's son in the school halls. 

Kuehner said he asked vice principal Ames to set up a meeting between him and the bullies' parents.

'My request was, look, I know the school can't give me their parents' phone numbers, but I can give them mine, so I said to the vice principal, here's my phone number, please call me. Let's get together in a room with you and those parents and sit down and figure out, why do your kids hate my kid? He doesn't know. He's not even been at the school for two weeks.

Kuehner said he never heard back from Ames regarding the request. Soon after the meeting, Kuehner was out walking his dog when he received a desperate text from his son informing him that his bullies had pulled up to their home in two cars and 'wanted to fight.'

The father recalled his son's terror as he begged his dad to be careful as he walked back to the home because he believed the teens were armed. Kuehner called 911 and the teens fled before police arrived. 

Kuehner claimed the police were unhelpful after the terrifying incident, handling him a case number but not following up.

Just days later, on August 18, Kuehner's son was brutally attacked by at least seven assailants at the parking lot of an In-N-Out that had become a go-to spot for the Goon's activities. Videos of the attack were later shared on social media. 

Kuehner says the worst aspect of the ordeal was the lack of empathy from officials as he desperately tried to protect his son

Kuehner's lawsuit claims official's inaction on teen violence led to the murder of Lord. A memorial for teen is seen on the street where he was found unconscious 

'He runs into the house, he's got no shoes on because they stole his shoes. His jeans are ripped. Blood is everywhere on his shirt. He's got footprints on his back and stuff,' Kuehner shared.

'When I saw the amount of blood coming from him... To this day, I haven't even looked at the video. I can't look at it.'

Kuehner added:  '[My son] loved that shirt. I managed to get the blood out but I couldn’t get the footprints on the back out.'

When Kuehner went to police, he said he was told that they could not charge his son's alleged main attacker because they did not see him throwing a punch in the video of the assault. 

One of his son's alleged attackers is the stepson of the principal of Riggs Elementary in Chandler, Jamie Lander, who has been ousted from her role after Kuehner accused her of failing to report her stepson.

Kuehner said the case was made inactive without his knowledge, and he did not hear from police until after Lord was killed and the community began expressing anger about the Goons' reign of terror. 

In an exclusive interview with DailyMail.com, Gilbert PD chief Michael Soelberg admitted that Kuehner was not informed when his son's case was made inactive -  only that it had been reopened following Lord's death in October. 

Lord's murder suspects from top left to right: Jacob Meisner, Talan Renner, Taylor Sherman, Treston Billey, Talyn Vigil,Dominic Turner and William 'Owen' Hines

Soelberg also claimed the department was not aware about the Goons until Lord was killed and the community began sharing videos of the rampant violence. 

He added that his department has not yet designed the Goons as a street gang, but is currently investigating the group. 

Kuehner decided to move his son our of country after his suspected attackers allegedly continued threatening and harassing him, and the school did not act to protect him. He said his son and his alleged main attacker were in a class together, and school officials simply offered to move the bully to another seat.

Kuehner said: 'There's a theme with these kids that when they attack, they tell you they'll kill you if you say anything.'

He added: 'They tried to find my my son again. They showed up at some grocery stores. They thought my son was over at a house and they were looking for him.

'So that's when I had pulled my son out of there. I decided that when I went to the school said, "hey, what options do you have? My son can't come back here. You can't guarantee his safety."

'I was losing hope. I was like, God, who else can I go to? I did everything I thought I was supposed to do as a parent. I went to the schools or to the police. What else can I do?'

Kuehner said the worst aspect of the ordeal was the lack of empathy from officials as he desperately tried to protect his son, who he says will never be the same after the traumatic experience. 

'They were done and there was no empathy whatsoever. Not one of the administrators at the school even once said, you know, I'm sorry.'

Alisha Tidwell, the mother of two Goon suspects - Noah and Jacob Pennington, denied they were involved in teen violence when approached by DailyMail.com, saying 'none of it is true'

Jacob Pennington, 20, allegedly beat a 16-year-old high school student in the face and yelled racial slurs during an assault in a desert area in San Tan Valley, Arizona, on November 18, 2023. He is named in Kuehner's suit as a Gilbert Goon

Goons suspects Treston Billie and Jacob Meisner are named in Kuehner's lawsuit after several assault arrests in Gilbert. They are both also accused with Lord's murder

Kuehner filed a lawsuit after his son, now living abroad, informed him of Lord's death.

'I found out about it by my son. My son told me and said, "that could have been me,'" Kuehner shared.

In his lawsuit, Kuehner names school officials, Goon suspects and their parents, arguing the caretakers are also to blame for allowing their teens to terrorize the community.

'It doesn't matter if [Lord murder suspect] Talan Renner or any of these guys physically attacked my son. The fact that they're associated in the game makes them liable to it to me. It's a conspiracy,' he said.'

Alisha Tidwell, the mother of two Goon suspects - Noah and Jacob Pennington - denied her sons were involved in teen violence when approached by DailyMail.com, saying 'none of it is true.'

When asked about Kuehner's lawsuit, she said she 'hadn't even thought about it.'

'I'm not worried,' she added. 'If I didn't know who my kid was, I would be.'

However, her son Jacob admitted to police that he was part of the Goons in January, claiming the name originated from a Snapchat group, according to police documents. 

Kuehner is just one of dozens of parents who have spoken up against the Chandler Unified school district, as countless others remain silent for fear of retaliation against their kids.

Sophie, who is afraid to give her last name for fear of reprisals, said she's unable to send her son to school after he was attacked by a repeat offender in a PE class at Arizona College Prep high school, billed as one of the best high schools in the country.

The anguished mother told DailyMail.com her son was attacked on February 22 and allegedly received no medical help at the school despite the fact that a doctor diagnosed him with a concussion later the same day.

Sophie, who has received a protective order for her son against his bully, claims the bully had beaten another student a week before her son was attacked in his PE class.

She says that when she confronted the school with video after her son was attacked, they told her they did not know about the previous incident, which she said happened on school grounds.

Sophie said she was not contacted by the school until two hours after her son, a sophomore, was attacked by the senior - and that assistant Heather Osborn lied when she stated that her son had denied medical help.

Sophie says she was not contacted by the school until two hours after her son, a sophomore, was attacked by the senior

'They said my son refused help but then I talked to the school nurse and she said she never saw my son that day,' Sophie told DailyMail.com, adding that her son also denied the school's claim.

Sophie said the threats against her son did not stop following the attack, and that she flagged a TikTok post by the attacker, where another person left a comment saying, 'we gon get [her son] again.'

The mother said when she reported the post to Chandler school's executive director Dan Serrano, he responded by citing the bully's freedom to post whatever he wants.

Coincidently, Serrano was promoted to his role in the district after serving as principal at Perry High school, the site of other alleged Goon harassment.

To make matters worse, Sophie said school officials including Osborn told her that both her son and his attacker would receive the same punishment - five days suspension. However, Sophie claimed she then learned the attacker only received three days suspension.

Like Kuehner, Sophie says that her pleas for help for her son have gone unanswered after he was beaten up, and her son has become depressed and suicidal as he's seen his grades drop due to the absences following the attack.

There is a current recall effort against Chandler school board president Barbara Mozdzen

Rob Bickes, Principal at Arizona College Prep. Sophie claims he has refused to remove her son's suspension from his record, even though, she claims, he was attacked by a bully

Her son also remains afraid of going to school, as Sophie desperately searches for an alternative learning option, as she says the school has not provided sufficient help to transfer him. 

'The discipline record will follow him in every Arizona school,' Sophie said. 'This has made my son have no hope, he wants to die, he complains that he's stuck at home and that other kids know he was suspended. He's just fallen in a hole.

Both Sophie and Kuehner believed Chandler superintendent Franklin Narducci should be replaced over what they claim is the district's negligence in protecting students. 

DailyMail.com has reached out to ACP principal Robert Bickes, assistant vice principal Heather Osborn, Chandler schools superintendent Narducci and executive director Dan Serrano for comment regarding Sophie's allegations.

In a response to a lengthy list of questions regarding Sophie's claims, the Chandler school district sent a statement to DailyMail.com.

Their statement read: 'Federal confidentiality laws, mainly the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, precludes the District from discussing or disclosing information about its students. However, we would like to share the following information.

'Chandler Unified School District reaffirms its commitment that each of its students be educated in a safe, positive, and caring learning environment. Consistent with this commitment, the District does not tolerate threats, intimidation, or violence of any kind. When such acts occur, the District has policies and procedures in place to address the matter. This includes contacting and working with the families involved and making feasible accommodations for students upon their return to school.

In the above conversation between Sophie and principal Bickes' he refuses to take another look at her son's suspension following the on-campus attack

Sophie says the threats against did not stop following the attack, and that she flagged a TikTok  by the attacker, where another person left a comment saying, 'we gon get [her son] again'

The mother said when she reported the bully's TikTok post to Chandler school's executive director Dan Serrano, he responded by citing the bully's freedom to post whatever he wants.

In the email exchange above, Serrano is seen discussing the video shared by Sophie that shows her son's attacker allegedly engaged in another fight on campus a week prior

'In CUSD we are also committed to continuing to raise awareness and addressing the needs of our youth including their mental health. CUSD is the only public K-12 school district in the country currently partnering with The Hope Institute which is a treatment facility for students experiencing suicidal ideation. This service is available to CUSD students and staff.'

The Chandler school district is currently under several investigations, including one for alleged discrimination on their campuses and failing to act to protect students.

In one lawsuit, the parents of former Hamilton high school student Andrew Harstad claimed their son died by suicide after officials in the Chandler Unified district failed to protect him from bullying and harassment. 

In another open case, a girl's parents claimed she was inappropriately touched by a teacher at Casteel High School and that Chandler officials failed to report it or properly address the girl's trauma. 

There are currently at least 20 civil litigations against schools in the Chandler Unified district.

Additionally, there is a current recall effort against Chandler school board president Barbara Mozdzen.