Elena Santa CruzArizona Republic
A Maricopa County Superior Court judge imposed the first sentence for a person charged as an adult in connection with a "Gilbert Goons" attack Monday.
Judge Sam Myers handed Deleon Haynes, 19, three years of supervised probation for his part in an Aug. 18, 2023, beating at the Gilbert In-N-Out Burger. Haynes was also ordered to complete 100 hours of community service.
The attack was on Richard Kuehner's 16-year-old son, who Goons targeted after he told school officials he was being bullied. He was first threatened at his house, then was attacked at the fast-food restaurant.
Kuehner's son had to go to the hospital, and Kuehner racked up $14,000 in medical bills. His son no longer felt safe after the attack, so he moved overseas with his mother.
"He still remembers that day, and parts of it still haunt him," Kuehner said in a written statement read in court. "My son dropped like a hunted animal, blood pouring from his mouth and screamed for them to stop as he felt he was going to die."
Kuehner said his son is not the same person he was before the Goons attacked him. He has PTSD and a scar on his mouth that reminds him of the attack. His son has to repeat a year of high school, Kuehner said, and won't get to live his teenage years as he expected.
But, Kuehner said, his son will persevere because what he went through does not define his future.
In a statement to the court, Haynes said he was ashamed of his actions and took full responsibility. Around the time of the incident, he said, he was not close with his family and was acting as a follower of his friends.
"I know I made a horrible choice that night, and I know this is not the life that I want to live," he said. Haynes said he is now closer with his family and wants to live a law-abiding life and be a good influence on people.
Myers told Haynes his lack of criminal history kept him out of custody, but that will no longer be true if he gets in trouble again.
"I hope this is the last time you stand in front of a judge," Myers told Haynes.
'Goons' beatings tied to fatal attack on Preston Lord in Queen Creek
More than two dozen arrests have been made in Goons beatings since the Oct. 28 fatal beating of Preston Lord, 16, in Queen Creek. So far, five other people have admitted guilt or accepted plea deals. Haynes' punishment is similar to what most of those five are expected to receive.
A December investigation by The Arizona Republic tied the fatal beating of Lord to the Goons, a gang of teenagers whose attacks on other teens went unchecked for more than a year. The police investigations into some beatings were shelved; others were not on the police's radar.
Authorities have since classified the Goons as a hybrid criminal street gang, but Gilbert police Chief Michael Soelberg said there was not enough evidence to bring additional gang-related charges.
The Kuehner case was set aside, and police did not reopen it until after being contacted by The Republic in December. As police reviewed the investigation, Kuehner told The Republic he wished police had moved more quickly in his son's case.
Kuehner said the attack and the police investigation have weighed on him because of their implications for other attack victims, including Lord.
"If any of these kids were the same kids that killed Preston, and if they (police) had done their job ... I struggle with that because maybe Preston would be alive today, and we wouldn't be doing this," Kuehner said.
Like many Goons' beatings, the attack on Kuehner's son was filmed. Prosecutors played the video in the courtroom on Monday. His son was chased, punched and kicked in the parking lot. A witness told police Haynes was involved in the beating and stole Kuehner's son's shoes, according to court records.
In January, Haynes was one of six people who were arrested on suspicion of aggravated assault and aggravated robbery in connection with the attack. Prosecutorsdeclined to chargetwo of the people who were arrested.
Haynes first denied his involvement in the attack but ultimately told police he participated and was in the video. He told police he was upset because Kuehner's son and his friends were harassing someone else in the parking lot.
On May 1, Haynes pleaded guilty to aggravated assault, which typically carries a sentence of one year. Attorneys on both sides of the case agreed to the punishment Haynes received.
Three others were charged in the attack. One, a 17-year-old who was charged with aggravated assault, admitted to the charge during an April juvenile court hearing, court records show. The teen was placed on one year of supervised probation. Other conditions of his probation included 10 hours of community service and writing a letter to Kuehner's son.
Christopher Fantastic, 19, was charged with both counts but pleaded guilty to aggravated assault on May 16. His sentencing for the August attack — and another attack he was charged in from May 2023 — was scheduled for July 1.
Aris Arrendondo, 18, was charged with both offenses in the attack, but prosecutors dropped the aggravated robbery charge. He has not changed his plea.
Elena Santa Cruz is a criminal justice reporter for The Republic. Reach her atelena.santacruz@gannett.com. Follow her on X@ecsantacruz3.
