PINAL COUNTY, Ariz. — There have been more than a dozen arrests made in assaults carried out against teenagers in the East Valley.
On Friday, two suspects were once again in front of a Pinal County judge after they were indicted by a grand jury.
Jacob Pennington, 20, and Garrett Bagshaw, 18, both pleaded not guilty for allegedly attacking a 17-year-old back in November. The attack was caught on video.
According to the Pinal County Sheriff's Office, the video shows the teen victim trying to back away from Pennington who continued to go after him. Court documents claim Pennington hit the victim several times in the face.
Once in custody, those same documents claim Pennington reportedly admitted to being part of a group called the "Gilbert Goons".
Bagshaw was arrested when Pennington identified him to county deputies while he was questioned, according to court documents detailing Bagshaw's arrest.
In Maricopa County on Thursday, five teen suspects were in court for their reported roles in group attacks against others in Gilbert.
Kyler Renner, 18, Gage Garrison, 19, and a 17-year-old were arrested for their reported role in an attack at a Downtown Gilbert Parking garage in December 2022.
During Renner and Garrison's initial appearance Thursday morning, prosecutors claim brass knuckles were used in the attack. According to court documents, the victim told investigators he saw one of the suspects had brass knuckles but wasn't sure if they were used.
Those same documents claim when Garrison was arrested, police found brass knuckles on him.
The 17-year-old was in juvenile court. It was announced he would be charged as an adult in this case.
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Two other teen suspects, Christopher Fantastic, 18, and Aris Arredondo, 18, were also in court. Both are charged in another teen assault that happened at the In-N-Out parking lot at San Tan Mall last August.
Fantastic pleaded not guilty to the charges he's facing. Arredondo's hearing was moved because his attorney said they didn't know the media would be at the hearing,
As Arredondo and two others were leaving the building, a 12News photographer tried to ask Arredondo about the accusations he is facing.
"F*** you, f*** you, I'm innocent," is how Arredondo responded before walking away.
Around this same time, chief Michael Soelberg with the Gilbert Police Department held another press conference regarding the ongoing teen assault investigations.
Chief Soelberg the department currently has 10 open investigations looking into groups of teenagers attacking victims. He also said officers have made 14 arrests since the start of the year.
Silent Witness:
Arizona's Silent Witness program allows people to send in tips and share information about crimes happening within their local communities.
The program shares unsolved felony case information in multiple ways, including TV, radio and social media.
Anyone who has information on a crime or recognizes a suspect described by the program is asked to call 480-948-6377, go to the program's website online or download the Silent Witness app to provide a tip. The identity of anyone who submits a tip is kept anonymous.
Calls to Silent Witness are answered 24/7 by a live person and submitted tips are accepted at all times. Submitted tips are then sent to the detective(s) in charge of the specific case.
Individuals who submit tips that lead to an arrest or indictment in the case can get a reward of up to $1,000.
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