“Gilbert Police Shelved Investigation into Beating Outside In-N-Out Burger, Arrest Made Months Later”

Accident – Death – Obituary News : **Gilbert Police Shelve Investigation into August Beating Outside In-N-Out Burger Despite Identifying Suspect**

In a surprising turn of events, the Gilbert Police Department has shelved an investigation into an August beating outside an In-N-Out Burger, despite interviewing a suspect identified by the victim on the night of the attack. The suspect, a 16-year-old, was recently arrested, nearly five months after the incident. Christopher Fantastic, Aris Arredondo, and another juvenile were also arrested in connection with the attack.

According to Gilbert police spokesperson Sgt. Lorenzo Teruya, when the 16-year-old suspect was first interviewed, officials were “unable” to establish probable cause. This development comes after an investigation conducted by The Arizona Republic, which uncovered a series of attacks by a gang known as the “Gilbert Goons,” primarily consisting of affluent teenagers, over the course of more than a year.

Most of these attacks took place in Gilbert, and there are allegations that members of the Goons were involved in the fatal beating of 16-year-old Preston Lord at a Halloween party in Queen Creek on October 28. One of the suspects arrested last week admitted to being associated with the group, and it was revealed that the name “Gilbert Goons” was created in a Snapchat group chat.

Gilbert Police Chief Michael Soelberg admitted that officers failed to connect the dots between the various attacks because the victims did not specifically mention the gang. It was only later that victims began referring to their attackers as being associated with the Goons. The police department has since opened multiple investigations into what they describe as “teen violence” cases.

The incident in question occurred on the night of August 18 when Richard Kuehner’s teenage son returned home from the Gilbert In-N-Out Burger with visible injuries and in a state of distress. Kuehner stated that his son was attacked by members of the Goons, and the assault was recorded on video.

When the police arrived at the scene that night, Kuehner’s son provided them with the name of a 16-year-old who was involved in the attack. This juvenile has now been arrested. However, in the weeks following the incident, Kuehner’s son received threats from the same juvenile. These threats included a picture of a gun and a visit to his house, prompting Kuehner’s son to report the threats to his school resource officer. This further angered the suspects involved.

During the initial interview with the police on the night of the attack, the 16-year-old suspect mentioned that a girl he did not know had recorded the assault and shared it in a group chat. The police obtained this video, which clearly showed multiple individuals punching, kicking, and stomping on Kuehner’s son while he tried to protect himself.

The 16-year-old suspect pointed out Aris Arredondo in the video as the one who initiated the attack, but he did not identify him by name. The video ended before the assailants dispersed, with an unidentified person seen taking the victim’s shoes. Kuehner’s son sustained multiple injuries to his mouth, which was visibly swollen, but did not suffer any serious physical harm.

Kuehner filed a police report and confirmed with the Perry school resource officer that his son was indeed the victim in the video. However, despite identifying the 16-year-old suspect and sharing the video with other officers at East Valley high schools, the case went inactive on October 2.

It was not until mid-December that the investigation was reopened as part of a broader effort to look into teen violence cases. On December 22, Gilbert police took to social media to seek the community’s help in identifying the attackers, posting still images from the video. Two days later, Aris Arredondo voluntarily went to the police and agreed to a non-custodial interview about his involvement in the attack.

Recent tips received by the police helped identify Christopher Fantastic and Aris Arredondo. One tip included a screenshot from a TikTok video posted on the afternoon of August 18, which showed Fantastic wearing the same clothes as in the assault video. Another screenshot from Arredondo’s social media accounts further confirmed his involvement. Kuehner’s son specifically identified Arredondo as the one who punched him in the mouth and initiated the altercation.

Fantastic and Arredondo were both identified as individuals seen punching, kicking, and stomping on Kuehner’s son during the attack. However, Fantastic declined to speak with the police after being read his rights and requested a lawyer. Arredondo, on the other hand, admitted to having a verbal altercation with Kuehner’s son but denied physically hitting him. He claimed to have left the scene without further engaging with the victim.

Arredondo also mentioned that an unknown person gave him Kuehner’s son’s shoes in downtown Gilbert later that night. He used the shoes for skating in the following months but no longer had them. During the interview, Arredondo confirmed his acquaintance with Fantastic and the 16-year-old suspect.

While progress has been made with these arrests, Gilbert police say they are still investigating the involvement of other individuals in the August 18 case. The department currently has a total of nine investigations related to teen violence, four of which have been reopened. The remaining cases were previously undisclosed.

As the investigation continues, the community hopes for justice to be served and for the safety of their teenagers to be ensured. The incident has left Kuehner’s son traumatized, leading his father to make the difficult decision of withdrawing him from school and sending him overseas to live with his mother.

Elena Santa Cruz, a criminal justice reporter for The Republic, contributed to this article. She can be reached at elena.santacruz@gannett.com or 480-466-2265. Follow her on Twitter @ecsantacruz3..