Heartbreaking 911 calls since the night Preston Lord was beaten to death at a Halloween party have revealed the chaos unleashed by a group of teenagers linked to a gang that has been terrorizing suburban Arizona for years.
Preston, 16, died a day after being found on a road in the Phoenix suburb of Queen Creek. According to police, he had been brutally attacked by at least 15 masked assailants at the party on October 28.
In one call, a sobbing boy told the operator that one of his friends had a broken wrist and another was lying on the ground unconscious, adding that there were at least 15 attackers wearing ski masks, according to a police report obtained by The Arizona Republic.
‘I’m afraid. ‘I don’t know what to do,’ said the terrified boy. ‘Are there people on the way? I need them to get here. I don’t want my friend to die.
In another call, a teenager said trained first responders were administering CPR to Preston, who he said had vomited and had a weak pulse. His caller added that Preston had not been breathing for up to two minutes.
Preston Lord, 16, was left to die on a Queen Creek road outside Phoenix after being attacked at the party on October 28 and suffering critical injuries.
Taylor Sherman (left), Dominic Turner (center), William Owen Hines above (right) have been charged with murder and kidnapping.
Treston Billey (left) and Talyn Vigil (right) have also been charged with Preston’s murder.
Police say suspect Talan Renner was taken out of town after the murder.
Residents of the neighborhood where the party was held had been calling 911 hours before the tragedy occurred, saying that the gathering was getting out of control and even warning that “people are going to get hurt.”
A frantic woman told the operator: ‘I have yet to see any Queen Creek police anywhere in our neighborhood. There are no cops here… unless those cops are hiding in the bushes.
Police responded to the scene around 9 p.m. for a “youth disturbance” but left shortly after, saying they saw no illegal activity and were dispatched to another “high priority” call.
At 9:49 p.m., police responded to a call about an assault a few houses away from the party and found Preston unconscious in the road.
It took police months to charge Preston’s alleged killers: Talan Renner, 17, Dominic Turner, 20, Talyn Vigil, 19, Taylor Sherman, 19, and Jacob Meisner, 17, William Hines, 18, and Treston Billey, 18 years old.
Accused killer Jacob Meisner was previously accused of other Goons-related assaults.
Arizona businessman Travis Renner has been accused of helping his teenage son cover up the murder. He has not been charged in connection with the teen’s death.
Two of them, Meisner and Hines, were already in custody when they were charged with Preston’s murder for other attacks on teenagers linked to the Gilbert Goons, a group of mostly wealthy white kids who have been terrorizing the Phoenix suburbs since 2022.
Ashley Reynolds, who worked for Talan’s father, Travis Renner, claimed she unwittingly participated in a cover-up that allegedly began as soon as Preston was seriously injured.
The former Relentless Media Agency employee told the Arizona Republic that her bosses, Renner and Adam Kifer, CEO of Relentless Media Agency, openly discussed her plans to hide evidence and shift the blame to another guy with a “similar name.”
Travis Renner and his business partner reportedly planned to take Talan to a cabin until the injuries he sustained while beating him healed. Detectives recorded that Renner’s family had “financial means to help him flee to Mexico” and removed him from the Phoenix area after the Preston attack.
Reynolds spoke to the local media before anyone was charged with Preston’s murder.
Queen Creek Police Chief Randy Brice confirmed that detectives spoke with Reynolds, who provided information consistent with their findings.
Travis Renner has not been charged in the alleged cover-up.
A lawyer for the Lord family said: ‘For months, witnesses were threatened and terrorized into silence in this case.
Gilbert Police Chief Michael Soelberg is emotional as he presents the update on the Gilbert Goons case on January 25, 2024. He acknowledged in January that authorities initially did not link the assaults that occurred in the same locations and involved to the same people.
“Without the collective efforts of law enforcement and the invaluable cooperation of community members, these arrests would not have occurred,” Preston’s family said in a statement. “Each arrest represents a step toward accountability and justice for our son Preston.”
A lawsuit filed by the father of one of Goon’s alleged victims names 17 alleged members of the teen gang and 26 of their parents’ parents.
The lawsuit claims that alleged gang members and their parents worked to intimidate victims of the brutal attacks.
“The conspiracy culminated in the murder of 16-year-old Preston Lord by certain members of the Goons,” the lawsuit states, as reported by the Arizona Republic.
“Preston’s killers should have been in juvie,” said attorney Richard Lyons. ‘Why weren’t these kids arrested and charged?’
Gilbert police have said Preston’s murder inspired them to take another look at the Gilbert Goons.
The lawsuit accuses the bullies of causing skull fractures, facial fractures, broken or missing teeth, concussions and other serious injuries.
