Two teens arrested in Snohomish County in connection with 2025 teen assault in Arizona
Two teenagers have been arrested in Snohomish County in connection with the violent assault of a 16-year-old near Lake Pleasant, Arizona, more than a year after the attack.
With the arrest, the family of the victim feel that they are a step closer to justice.
The assault, captured on video, showed the West Valley teen being dragged out of a car by multiple suspects before they punched, kicked and stomped on him while he lay on the ground.
The victim’s mother, who asked that she and her son not be named, said she still cannot bring herself to watch the video.
“No, even just talking about it, I get the chills,” she said.
According to the mother, her son had gone to Lake Pleasant with a group of friends for a bonfire. As larger groups began arriving, he went to help a girl who had started throwing up. She said he and a friend returned to their car when they were approached by a group of teens.
“They were all complete strangers,” she said.
She said the group then attacked her son while calling him racial slurs. Video from the scene also captured female voices encouraging the assault.
The attack lasted about a minute before the teen called his mother for help with the words “Mom, I can’t stop bleeding, I can’t stop bleeding.'”
He was taken to the hospital, where doctors determined he had suffered a fractured nose.
Shortly after the attack, Peoria, Arizona police arrested a 17-year-old seen in the video. That teen later pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated assault and was sentenced to probation and community service.
The victim’s mother said she remained determined to see the other two suspects face charges.
“I made a promise that you know it may not be today, it may not be tomorrow, but you are going to face this. My son’s going to get justice,” the victim’s mother said.
She said arrest warrants had been issued for the remaining suspects months ago.
On Thursday, she learned they had been arrested about 1,500 miles north of the Valley in Washington.
“I think they felt that they were never going to face it, so they took off,” she said.
One of the suspects is a minor and hence remains un-named. The other was identified as Jake Dorson. Both are awaiting extradition back to Arizona.
“It’s almost time for my son to get his closure as well as us as a family to find healing, and kind of put this trauma behind us, and hopefully these assailants can change for the better,” she said.
The mother said her son has continued moving forward since the attack.
“My son’s thriving, nothing’s gonna stop him. I mean, he does still want everybody to face the consequences of their actions, just like we all do in life,” she said.
She plans to continue speaking out about teen violence in hopes of preventing similar attacks.
“It needs to stop. How many more victims?” she said.
According to online records, Dorson posted a $20,000 bail. It remains unclear when either suspect will be extradited to Arizona.
