Gilbert Goons gang 'BETRAYED each other when cops started probing Preston ... trends now

A group of Arizona teens accused of beating a 16-year-old to death at a party turned on each other as police narrowed in on them, police documents reveal.

Preston Lord died two days after being brutally attacked at the Halloween event on October 28 in Queen Creek, Phoenix.

A five-month investigation led to the arrest of seven young men with links to the so-called Gilbert Goons - a gang of wealthy kids who have been terrorizing the area.

The suspects went from allegedly threatening witnesses and deleting evidence to turning on each other in hopes of obtaining the $10,000 reward for information on the murder, the police documents claim.

'Oftentimes, people turn on each other. They revert to saving themselves,' Queen Creek police chief Randy Brice told Arizona's Family. 

The police report into the probe reveals how the suspects discussed how they could cover their tracks, with accused killer Taylor Sherman, 19, discussing the cash reward in an exchange with an unnamed person.

The unnamed person texted Sherman: 'Yo tell me you didn't delete the video of the dead kid. It's 10k if you give to the popo.'

Sherman replied: 'Huh, that's going to make me a victim you stupid f***.'

Police noted in the police report that Sherman probably meant 'suspect' instead of 'victim.'

In other text exchanges reviewed by police, murder suspect Jacob Meisner, who is also charged in other Gilbert Goons assaults, asked people to deleted the videos. 

An officer noted: 'Taking videos of fights and sharing them has been a common behavior with individuals involved in this investigation.' 

In another text exchange between Sherman and an unidentified person, a message read: 'Talan killed someone with his hands - referencing accused killer Talan Renner, 17.

Within a week of the murder, police obtained search warrants and had the names of the primary suspects, as well as evidence that they discussed deleting pictures and bought burner phones days after Preston was killed, according to their report. 

When asked why the delay in arrests, Brice said: 'An arrest is not enough, it's a conviction that we are looking for.'

In the weeks after Preston's murder, one of the suspects, Renner was allowed to keep playing football after police served him with a warrant at his charter high school. He was Talan was seen as the running back for the American Leadership Academy in Gilbert on November 17 and was awarded 'player of the game'.

A police report reveals that Renner's parents, who have been accused of trying to help cover up his involvement in the murder, pulled him out of school early on October 31.

Renner's parents told the school he was being called a murderer on social media and he did not return to school for the rest of the week.

On November 2, the dean of students at ALA Gilbert North contacted the Queen Creek police department to share that students were talking about Renner's  involvement in the murder.

But by November 6, the teen was back in school, where he was approached by detectives, who took his

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