Teen violence: Gilbert Police chief talks about investigations amid mounting community worries

GILBERT, Ariz. - On Jan. 18, Gilbert Police Chief Michael Soelberg spoke out on the department's investigations into teen violence, as the East Valley community continues to deal with the fallout from violent crimes involving teenagers, including the death of Preston Lord.

As he spoke, Chief Soelberg explained why he has stayed quiet on the matter in recent weeks. He said in the absence of parents hearing from him, misinformation continued to spread.

"Over the past several weeks, my focus – our focus at the police department has been on supporting tremendous investigative activities that have been occurring behind the scenes," said Chief Soelberg.

Chief Soelberg said overall crime is down in Gilbert, but violent crime is up. From 2022 to 2023, incidents of teen-on-teen violence have made up .07% of their total calls for service, and over the past two years, 22 arrests have been made relating to teen violence, with 13 of those arrests being made before Preston's death.

Chief Soelberg said he understands the frustration from parents, and explained what he has been doing from behind the scenes.

"In order for these arrests to been made, our detectives have to thoroughly review all evidence associated with the crime," said Chief Soelberg. "In regards to this case, we looked at both the December case and all these other cases, as we were looking at this pattern."

The Gilbert Town Council subcommittee on teen violence will also hold its first meeting on Thursday following Soelberg's briefing.