An Arizona teenager with ties to the “Gilbert Goons” gang has pleaded guilty to two counts of aggravated assault.
Gage Garrison, 19, was arrested in January after being accused of taking part in an attack in a parking garage the month before and the December 2022 assault of a teenager at a girl’s birthday party.
In that second attack, he was accused of hitting another teen with brass knuckles for “standing up for a friend at school.” He was arrested along with 18-year-old Cody Kostoryz.
Prosecutors say Garrison has ties to the so-called “Gilbert Goons,” a gang of teenagers who have been threatening the city of Gilbert, Arizona, for years.
Gage Garrison, 19, an Arizona teen allegedly associated with the “Gilbert Goons” gang, has pleaded guilty to two counts of aggravated assault
Garrison was accused of an attack in a parking lot last year and another at a girl’s birthday party in December 2022 (pictured), in which a teenager was attacked with brass knuckles
The ‘Goons’ are best known for their alleged involvement in the brutal beating of 16-year-old Preston Lord at a Halloween party last fall.
In that attack, Lord was reportedly attacked by 15 people wearing balaclavas, leading to the arrest of Talan Renner, 17, on suspicion of first-degree murder.
Renner’s brother, Kyler, is one of two other teens involved in the parking garage attack, to which Garrison pleaded guilty this week.
Court documents obtained by 12News show he and Kostyryz robbed another minor because of a bullying problem at their school. He also pleaded guilty to the attack at his birthday party.
The victim, who has not been named, reportedly told police he was targeted because he “stood up for a friend at school.” The alleged “Boons” found him at a girl’s birthday party at her home.
Reports say a group forced their way inside without being invited and then approached the victim.
Footage from the chaotic scenes at the party showed the crowd holding down the victim and taking turns punching and kicking him
A pair of brass knuckles that police say were used in the attack
Preston Lord, 16, was left to die on a road along Queen Creek outside Phoenix on Oct. 28 after being attacked and seriously injured at a party. He is the most famous case of the “Gilbert Goons” reign of terror.
Footage from the chaotic scenes at the party shows the crowd pinning down the victim and taking turns punching and kicking him, including with a knuckle duster.
After pleading guilty, Garrison will be sentenced on September 26.
Prosecutors say Garrison is a member of the “Goons,” who are responsible for a series of violent attacks on teenagers in the region.
The teenager tragically died in the attack on Lord the day after he attended a Halloween party in October last year, where he was found lying motionless in the road.
In March, chilling 911 audio footage of the attack was released, in which a sobbing witness told the dispatcher that his friend was lying unconscious on the ground and that there were at least 15 attackers wearing ski masks, according to a police report obtained by The Republic of Arizona.
“I’m scared. I don’t know what to do,” the terrified boy said. “Are there people on the way? I need them to get here. I don’t want my friend to die.”
According to police, suspect Talan Renner led the attack on Lord and later boasted that the victim needed a “closed casket burial.”
In another call, a teenager said trained lifeguards were performing CPR on Preston, who he said had been vomiting and had a weak pulse. The caller added that Preston had not been breathing for two minutes.
After Renner was arrested for the incident, it was revealed that he had bragged to others about surviving the attack, even joking that it would be a “closed casket funeral,” according to his father’s ex-girlfriend.
Police files show that shortly after the assault, an unidentified boy danced on the dying teen’s body while others “fucked” – simulated rape acts – to further humiliate their victim.