One teenager is dead so far.

https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZT8Hr7vpk/

Here's another source:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/gilberts-devil-dogs-who-were-they-and-what-happened-to-them/ar-AA1ly9py

The most nutty Mormons I have ever met come from Gilbert or Mesa. Arizona seems to be a pretty corrupt state.

I don't believ any of the Gilbert Goons are LDS, but there may be one. But there is no LDS connection between the members of the Goons

Did you watch the TikTok video?

The teens appear to be linked to Mormon-influenced far right charter schools which were founded by a Mormon grifter.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/07/2024 01:17AM by summer.

https://dorihgems.ams3.digitaloceanspaces.com/2024-02-29/16313-are-gilbert-goons-mormon-gang-members-names.html


Sadly I do believe that some of the Gilbert Goons are LDS.

FACT: None of the four primary teens ("Gilbert Goons") who were indicted by a Maricopa County grand jury and subsequently arrested yesterday in Gilbert were LDS. All will be tried as adults.

...Other arrests are pending.

Posted by: Jumping Puppy ( )
Date: March 07, 2024 12:23AM
Re: Gilbert Goons (LDS kids)

"I don't believe any of the Gilbert Goons are LDS, but there may be one. But there is no LDS connection between the members of the Goons"

...so far this is absolutely correct.

So far.

How would you know whether or not they are LDS?

Or rich? The LDS church is filthy rich from exploiting its members, who generally are not rich.

bradley Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> How would you know whether or not they are LDS?
>
> Or rich? The LDS church is filthy rich from
> exploiting its members, who generally are not
> rich.


I have resigned from the LDS church in 2013. There must be an active LDS member who has access to the ward directory who can see if they are on the ward roster.

bradley Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> How would you know whether or not they are LDS?
>
> Or rich? The LDS church is filthy rich from
> exploiting its members, who generally are not
> rich.

"Arizona teen Talan Renner whose millionaire dad tried to 'cover up his role' in murder of Preston Lord who was beaten"

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13175017/Talan-Renner-preston-lord-parents-Arizona-Gilbert-Goons.html

I can say one teen is rich. If Renner is LDS I am still trying to figure it out.

"How would you know whether or not they are LDS?"

https://www.tiktok.com/@lifetaketwo/video/7322959396995190047

Jacbob's mom and stepdad have a picture of them standing in an lds stake center.



https://www.tiktok.com/@lifetaketwo/video/7343673530057329950?lang=en

The Mormon kids I grew up with were bullies too. What a coincidence.

Sorry, I could only find tiktoks that Jacob's family might be LDS.

https://www.tiktok.com/@mormontruecrime/video/7331764014143294762

The AZCentral article linked below states that "[Jacob] Meisner's family home in the wealthy Gilbert enclave of Whitewing was searched by police on Nov. 6 in connection with Lord's death, according to interviews and records. Police descended on the gated community near the Latter-day Saints' Gilbert Arizona Temple — where houses sell for more than $1 million — with automatic weapons, an armored vehicle and evidence vans."

It's not probative, but I have to wonder how common it would be for a non-Mormon to buy a million-dollar plus home in a new development near a new temple. As a nevermo, I personally find the thought of living in such a community unattractive.

https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/queen-creek/2024/03/07/taylor-sherman-arrested-in-connection-with-death-of-preston-lord/72879479007/

So far I have not read any official statement that there are any LDS connections.

I am following this case.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/2024/03/07/arizona-gang-attack-preston-lord-gilbert-goons/bab258fc-dca7-11ee-b5e9-ad4573c62315_story.html

Police now have six suspects.

Free article:
https://apnews.com/article/arizona-gang-attack-preston-lord-gilbert-goons-eb7d3155449984c6b57244ffd4d39b33

FYI - Along with many others, I personally watched the arrests happen at White Wing as we looked over the wall from the adjacent neighborhood. A large portion of those surrounding neighborhoods are LDS and they all know one another. Of the four boys arrested that day, none of the LDS members on the ground watching the arrests happen knew them and stated that they were not members of the Ward or the Stake.

The Gilbert Temple is about a mile from front gate of White Wing on Higley. There are several newer "more exclusive" neighborhoods that are much closer and in the shadow of the temple where houses are being constructed for $3-5 million and some are exceeding 10k sq ft....McMansion central.

PS- The WhiteWing neighborhood was built and occupied at least 10 years before the construction of the temple.

Mormon connections in this case.

https://www.tiktok.com/@generallyunquotable/video/7329644364349787438

Oh, my.

AZCrazy Jacob Pennington comes from an LDS family

https://www.tiktok.com/@lifetaketwo/video/7322959396995190047

I watched this video and in all fairness, this is really a stretch. She points out that a coach at ALA was LDS (shocker!) and may have allowed a player (not LDS) who may have been involved in a fight (marks on his hands) to play when he may otherwise be ineligible. A coach giving special treatment to a star payer is a sports thing, not an LDS thing. The coach was subsequently fired BTW.

Again, (so far) none of the boys arrested are LDS and this video does not make that claim either. It appears she is just trying to connect some dots in a very "gossipy" and conspiratorial fashion.

Stick to the facts and stay away from conspiracy theories as this promotes misinformation and discredits any real arguments to be made. Report the facts only as they can be verified and as they relate directly to the case.

If the facts eventually show an LDS conspiracy then that will come to light. So far there is nothing.

On this board, we can speculate away. We do not have to abide by your opinion about it. We are not new here. You evidently are.

It is speculated that the marks on the player's hands may be from the beating given to the murdered boy. It's a reasonable speculation. The police will sort it out.

>>Stick to the facts and stay away from conspiracy theories as this promotes misinformation and discredits any real arguments to be made.

That gave me a chuckle. If only Mormons took that advice when they swallow down all the LDS doctrine hearsay claims.

They'll believe someone saying they saw God in the woods with no questions asked, but boy howdy, there's no evidence for this story!

> If only Mormons took that
> advice when they swallow
> down all the LDS doctrine
> hearsay claims.


If they don't, the three Nephites will TP their Trek carts!!!

Not to mention the angel that took the golden plates back (how convenient!) and also the angel with the flaming sword.

Summer wrote "...It is speculated that the marks on the player's hands may be from the beating given to the murdered boy. It's a reasonable speculation. The police will sort it out."

Agreed, that may in fact be true.

However, having stated that, to date, where is the LDS connection? Just because the coach was LDS? The boys arrested were not, so at this point you are trying to connect the dots where they do not exist. Ironically, much like members of the church do in their twisted logic.

A LDS connection has not been firmly established, but neither has it been ruled out. This is a wealthy community within close distance to a new-ish temple. Yes, people are going to wonder. And the Academy does have LDS connections. Was one of the football players there involved in the beating? No one knows either way at this time.

You seem to be all butt-hurt about the comments here. Once again, we do not have to abide by your "rules."

Maybe what you should be concerning yourself with is why your community has these roving gangs of violent boys. I personally never heard of such a thing in a wealthy community.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/10/2024 09:19PM by summer.

One tiktok comment reads

"@amiebarringersnow:Jake Pennington was in our stake for a few years. Settlers Meadows Ward. His mom was a complete con artist. Bilked the ward out of so much $$$$. They just ate her story up."

https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTL8sJA8T/

How true is that comment? I don't know.

https://maps.churchofjesuschrist.org/wards/272531

You could email Bishop Ray and asked him.

The main thing that strikes me is that this has been going on for YEARS. At least 1993? In this article from 2000 they made arrests and implemented programs, yadda yadda. So what the hell is the deal? What is going on there that these rich little bitches think this is OK? WTF is wrong with their parents? They KNOW this is an issue. They KNOW this is going on. They KNOW it has been going on for a long time. Why don't they use some of their money and DO something about their damn kids? This is not a kid problem, this is a PARENT problem. They need to get off their fat asses and raise their kids. This mentality doesn't just happen all of a sudden, this goes back to how they were raised from toddlers and first told NO and not to hit. This whole thing reeks of entitled kids, entitled, checked out parents. Screwed up values. And now they have created a culture where this crap is ok. I have questions about the Police Department too. The murder and all the other departments getting involved brought a lot more publicity to the issue but it is NOT a new problem. I really wish we could ask Benson about this.


Devil Dogs left scars on Gilbert
Gang also forced town to make changes

The Arizona Republic/December 31, 2000
By Edythe Jensen
In 1999, a gang of violent, teenage, White supremacists called the Devil Dogs teeth into Gilbert and left scars. Boys with fat allowances and vocabularies of hate attacked strangers with their fists. Several landed jail sentences this year; many more were captured on film and videotape yelling racial slurs and flashing White power hand signs.

Shocked by the incidents and by allegations of bigotry in this predominantly White, upper-middle-class suburb, town and school leaders are rewriting the rules for acceptable behavior.

Some say the push for diversity is healing the wounds inflicted by the Devil Dogs. Others argue that recovery has been slowed by the community's continued unwillingness to talk openly about how a gang of hate-inspired youths could have festered in its neighborhoods for so many years.

"Devil Dogs" was the latest incarnation of a gang that had festered in the city for nearly seven years. Police and court records show that a White supremacist gang that had begun at Highland High School had been under investigation since 1993. Members changed, as did the group's name in any given year.

https://culteducation.com/group/1173-white-supremacists/19983-devil-dogs-left-scars-on-gilbert.html

Chief Michael Soelberg, graduate of Weber State, Ogden Utah.

https://www.azcentral.com/story/opinion/editorial/2024/03/06/gilbert-goons-response-fire-police-chief-michael-soelberg/72849369007/

More interesting info here. I don't know if this will link correctly.


https://www.reddit.com/r/GilbertAccountability/



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/10/2024 09:47PM by Susan I/S.

I agree with you, Susan. It's not a new problem in that area.

After my father died, I was sent to live with a relative in a wealthy town in the Northeast in order to qualify to go to an excellent public high school. We lived on the furthest possible fringe of that town -- you could throw a rock, and it would land in the next town over. So I attended what was then a brand-new, state of the art, well-funded high school. Many of the school's students would go on to attend Ivy League and other top-tier universities. I wore the same pair of patched blue jeans every school day.

And you know what? I never got one comment on my old, worn-out jeans. Those rich kids were the kindest, most decent people. Their parents did a great job raising them. One town parent helped me to get a college scholarship.

That's why I find this ongoing problem in the Gilbert area so perplexing. Where are the parents, and why are they not doing their jobs?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/11/2024 05:27AM by summer.

Well Summer, I have only run into a bit about the parents. The father of Jake Meisner, Anthony Meisner, in a 2011 case pled down a charge of Child Sex Trafficking to Prostitution.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/michael-gilliland-arrested-wild-oats-founder-nabbed-in-phoenix-child-prostitution-sting/

I am glad that people invested the time and scholarship money in you!!!!! You are a WONDERFUL teacher :)

That's kind of you to say that, Susan. :) I do like to think they would be proud of me. I had some wonderful teachers at that school.

As for the men arrested who were involved in child prostitution, yikes!

No no dear, that was one of the FATHERS.

This Gilbert Goons is a very complex situation. AZCrazy is right I should not speculate or blame the church for everything before there is real proof and evidence. One of the Gilbert Goons I do believe is LDS. The LDS Church has money and has a law firm.

The "Devil Dogs" of 25 years ago have no connection to the "Gilbert Goons" other than they were (and are) made up of high school boys in the East Valley area.

Interesting piece of trivia: In 1999 Steve Benson lived in the affluent (and largely LDS) Val Vista Lakes area of Gilbert. Steve's son was implicated with being a part of the Devil Dogs through the rumor mill.

To add intrigue to the Devil Dog story, infamous crime figure "Sammy The Bull" Gravano (who became underboss of the Gambino crime family under John Gotti in the late 1980's and 1990's) had been relocated to the East Valley area and living in the witness protection program under a new name.

While in the witness protection program Gravano returned to criminal activity by starting a major ecstasy trafficking organization. His son, Gerard, became friends with 23-year-old Michael Papa, a Devil Dogs gang leader (not LDS) Using the Devil Dogs gang to sell the drugs, Gravano reportedly grossed $500,000 a week.

In February 2000, Gravano and nearly 40 other ring members were arrested and subsequently convicted and he was sentenced to 19 years in the Arizona St prison. Since his release he's become a popular "mob" figure and podcast guest on youtube. (crime pays?)

Anyway,it turned out that Steve Benson's son had nothing to do with the Devil Dogs and his involvement was just a bad rumor that got spread around without any basis in fact. In the end, Steve and Maryann and their family were left dealing with the bad press and consequences.

Here is a timeline.

https://ktar.com/story/5556974/heres-a-timeline-of-everything-involving-preston-lord-gilbert-goons-east-valley-youth-violence/

Wow -- that's a laundry list of incidents along with the youth involved. Let's hope that the prosecutors can get a lot of convictions or plea deals off of this list.

Per google “ where is Preston Lord go to school?”

“Lord was a popular student at Combs High School in nearby San Tan Valley, where he served on the student council and played basketball, football and golf. Lord went to a Halloween party with friends who say he was jumped by multiple teenagers.Dec 28, 2023”

https://www.fox10phoenix.com/news/preston-lord-murder-suspect-taken-out-of-area-following-assault

One of the suspects was supposedly taken to Mexico after the Halloween incident.

Today was the arraignment for six of the suspects

https://www.tiktok.com/@modernlawaz/video/7346002256451390751?lang=en

A Wikipedia search on Gilbert AZ, gives the impression that it is one of the safest cities in the US.

But a similar search on Gilbert Devil Dogs and/or Gilbert Coons give a completely different view of Gilbert.

I am following this case and looking for any LDS connections.

https://www.abc15.com/news/local-news/investigations/teen-violence/east-valley-fusion-center-not-sent-single-bulletin-on-gilbert-goons-internal-emails-show