Queen Creek, AZ (AZFamily) — Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell joined Queen Creek County leaders and state Rep. Matt Gress on Wednesday to discuss proposed tougher legislation to combat teen violence and aggravated assault.
It's an issue that has plagued the East Valley region in recent months, with Preston Lord's death in particular shocking the town of Queen Creek and sparking public attention with other teen assaults, including one by a notorious group known as the Gilbert Goons.
Mitchell said the proposal is meant to combat so-called “swarming,” in which groups of minors band together to beat up someone else, often another teenager.
“That's what we're seeing more often than not in recent teen violence cases: three, four, five or more people targeting one person,” Mitchell said. “The mob mentality we see in these cases is extremely dangerous to victims and that danger needs to be reflected in the law.”
How will the law change?
Specifically, assault charges could be upgraded to Class 4 felonies. Currently, many of these assaults are charged as Class 6 felonies, but in some circumstances they could be downgraded to misdemeanors, Mitchell said.
“A Class 4 felony is a permanent felony and cannot be changed to a misdemeanor,” Mitchell explained.
First Violation A Class 4 felony is generally punishable by one to 3.75 years in prison.Dangerous crimes involving children can carry prison sentences of 10 years or more.
Felonies in this class that are classified as “dangerous” are not eligible for probation. State Law.
Who supports this bill?
Arizona Representatives Matt Gress, who represents the 4th District, and Julie Willoughby, who represents the 13th District, are co-sponsoring the bill. Queen Creek Mayor Julia Wheatley and Queen Creek Police Chief Randy Brice voiced their support at a press conference.
“Next January, Arizona State Legislature “I intend to take action on the Mitchell County Attorney's bill,” said Rep. Gress. “I want to thank the Mitchell County Attorney for his leadership on this issue and for protecting the residents of Maricopa County from crime.”
What else is being done to curb teen violence in our communities?
Since December 2023, Maricopa County prosecutors have filed at least 18 teen assault cases.
“We're seeing an increase in teen violence in every corner of the county, and frankly across the state. What's even more concerning is the level of violence that we're seeing,” Mitchell explained.
Last month, the county prosecutor's office announced a new initiative encouraging people to report teen violence in their communities.Please report, do not repost” urged witnesses to not post videos of fights or assaults on social media, but to report incidents directly to police.
The number of first-degree murder indictments filed against people under the age of 18 jumped 350%, from six in 2022 to 27 in 2023, prosecutors said. During the same period, aggravated assault cases involving teenagers more than doubled.the number of teenagers being prosecuted as adults increased by 32 percent overall.
“Once a video is posted online and on social media, all we know is what we see. We may not know the names of the people in the video, where the fight took place, or what happened just before and after the video started and ended. This makes it infinitely more difficult for police to investigate and for my attorney to prosecute,” Mitchell previously said.
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