Attacker sentenced to probation for Gilbert In-N-Out attack in December 2022

Lina Portman3 weeks ago

0 3 minutes read

A young man who told police he was a member of the “Gilbert Goons” was sentenced Thursday to probation for his role in the beating of a minor in the parking lot of a Gilbert In- N-Out in December 2022.

Jacob Pennington, 20, was sentenced in Maricopa County Superior Court to three years of intensive supervised probation and 30 days of suspended jail time for his involvement in the Dec. 2, 2022, restaurant attack.

The deferred prison sentence essentially acts as an incentive to comply with the conditions of probation. If Pennington complies within the next six months, he likely won't have to serve prison time.

Judge Bruce Cohen applied “gang terms” to Pennington's probation, prohibiting him from associating with known or suspected gang members. The conditions also prohibit him from entering the grounds of any school where he is not a student and require him to submit to search and seizure with or without a warrant. Cohen said in court that the decision to enforce the gang-related conditions was not because of an affiliation with the Goons but because it could benefit Pennington.

Pennington's attorney, Chris Doran, advised him not to make any statements in court. Outside the courtroom after the hearing, Doran and Pennington declined to speak about the case.

None of the victims in this case were in court Thursday. Cohen said only one victim wanted to move forward with the charges, and another refrained out of fear of Pennington's co-defendant, Tyler Freeman.

The mother of one of the victims said her son suffered no harm as a result of Pennington's actions, according to a victim impact statement obtained by The Arizona Republic. She said her son was aware of previous attacks in the community and felt he was engaged in a “mutual fight with people who were having problems with his friends.” She and her son reportedly did not file charges, but the Maricopa County District Attorney's Office filed them on her son's behalf, according to court records.

Who are the “Gilbert Goons”?What you need to know about a teenage gang accused of brutal attacks

Pennington also pleaded guilty Monday to aggravated assault for his role in another gang attack on a teenager that occurred on Nov. 18, 2023, near San Tan Mountain Regional Park, in an area known as Wagon Wheel. He was sentenced to three years of probation along with 120 days of deferred jail time and “gang time.”

A December 2023 investigation by The Arizona Republic linked the Gilbert Goons to at least seven other attacks since 2022, including the fatal beating of 16-year-old Preston Lord at a Halloween party in Queen Creek on October 28, 2023. Co-defendants in the In-N-Out case, William Owen Hines, were charged with first-degree murder for Lord's death.

Pennington admitted his involvement with the Goons, who classified the group as a hybrid criminal street gang. However, Doran said in court records that Pennington was neither a member nor affiliated with the Goons, and that the fight at In-N-Out had nothing to do with the group.

Pennington was out of state at the time of Lord's death, Doran said previously, and was not involved in that attack. On Thursday, Cohen said he was not focusing on Lord's case or other Goons-related cases and that he found no evidence of gang activity in the In-N-Out incident .

Lina Portman

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