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But according to foes, what it may also do is turn what could have been a schoolyard fight into a crime that sends those involved to prison for 2.5 years or more.

House Bill 2611 was prompted by a series of incidents in the Phoenix area’s East Valley over more than a year where a gang of teens known as the Gilbert Goons was beating others up. One incident in particular got public attention: the 2023 beating death of 16-year-old Preston Lord at a Halloween party in Queen Creek.

That led to questions of whether existing laws on assault are adequate.

In general, such attacks — the Lord case being an exception because of the death — are considered Class 6 felonies. But Phoenix Republican Rep. Matt Gress pointed out that ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ law allows them to be handled by courts as misdemeanors.

By contrast, this legislation creates a more serious Class 4 felony, with its possible prison term, when there is an attack “aided by two or more accomplices’’ and the assault is directed at a single person.

Republican Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell, who worked with Gress to craft the measure, called what is happening “swarming.’’

She said the measure is a direct outgrowth of growing teen violence. “It was clear that to truly hold these kinds of attackers accountable, we must have the right tools — meaning the right laws,’’ she said.

While teen violence was the impetus of the measure, the bill has broader reach, Mitchell said.

“It will apply not just to children, but to any attacker who foolishly believes that by hiding in a crowd they’ll get away with it,’’ she said.

Scottsdale Republican Rep. Alexander Kolodin said creating an entirely new crime is unnecessary.

“Preston Lord’s killers were charged with murder and a variety of other crimes,’’ he said. “Our criminal laws are sufficient to put them away for the rest of their lives.’’

Nor does he think that, had Gress’ proposal been law, it would have prevented the death.

“Preston Lord’s murderers had previously committed aggravated assault by our current definition of aggravated assault,’’ Kolodin said. What went wrong, he said, was not the laws on the books but the responses of those charged with enforcing them.

“The people responsible for Preston Lord’s death are the town of Gilbert and the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office,’’ Kolodin said, saying both were aware for years of the gang attacks.

That brought a sharp rebuke from Mitchell, who told Capitol Media Services it was “another sign of him being soft on crime.’’

Kolodin, however, told colleagues they need to look closely at the breadth of what they’re approving.

“It sends our kids to jail for a very long time for a very serious felony for getting into a fight at school that does not cause serious physical injury to anyone,’’ he said.

In fact, he said, the bill as approved by the House says the “accomplices’’ do not even need to be present at the fight to make whatever occurred a Class 4 felony.

“What does it even mean to have two accomplices who are not present?’’ Kolodin asked.

Consider, he said, what happens in a one-on-one fight at a school, with some friends cheering on the assailant from the side.

“And that kid, without ever breaking somebody’s bones, without ever hurting them in any persistent or permanent way, will now spend years in jail so that we can cover up for the people who killed Preston Lord,’’ Kolodin said.

Gress called his comments “quite a tale ... about what this bill is and is not.’’ The measure is simple, Gress countered.

“It says if three or more people engage in an assault on a single person, then this statute would allow a prosecutor to prosecute for swarming,’’ Gress told colleagues.

He also said this is a probation-eligible offense, meaning it’s not necessarily true that anyone convicted would be sent to prison for years.

Gress also disputed Kolodin’s claim that nothing in the bill would have prevented the death of Preston Lord.

“The Gilbert Goons had been engaging in a pattern of ganging up on people, single individuals, and attacking them,’’ he said. “And they finally crossed the line and took Preston Lord’s life. That mob violence should not be tolerated at all.’’

He said that requires giving prosecutors “the tools they need to stop things from getting out of hand.’’

But Rep. Lupe Contreras said what happened to Lord — and what Gress said the bill is about — “is way different.’’ The Avondale Democrat said it puts “kids that were just in a regular fight ... in the same (legal) verbiage as mob violence when it was just a brawl or a miscommunication between kids at a schoolyard.’’

“I have kids in high school right now,’’ Contreras said. “And I would hate for my son to be put in that predicament because somebody did something to his sister and he’s standing up for them, and maybe his friend jumps in. And now, all of a sudden, my kid and his friend get into some problem — and it wasn’t mob violence.’’

Rep. Justin Olson agreed with Kolodin that what happened to Preston Lord wasn’t due to existing laws being inadequate.

“Law enforcement had the tools that they needed to go after these individuals, but they didn’t,’’ said the Mesa Republican.

“It was a failure of law enforcement,’’ he continued. “And I’m afraid that we’re rushing to a new policy here today in order to satisfy our frustration that law enforcement did not act to stop the crimes that should have been stopped.’’

But Olson ended up voting for the bill anyway, saying he will “stand with law enforcement.’’

Rep. Khyl Powell, a Gilbert Republican, agreed that no one wants their children to end up in prison. He suggested that police were slow to respond.

“We constantly asked, ‘Why is this taking so long? Why did a group of hellions roam the town for two years where the police understood and knew all about it?’ ‘’ he said.

But he, too, supported the legislation.

“Unfortunately, when people cannot manage their behavior, we as legislators must act in order to preserve life,’’ Powell said.

The measure now goes to the Senate.