An Arizona high school football star has pleaded not guilty after his father was accused of trying to help him cover up the murder of 16-year-old Preston Lord.
Seven young men, including Talan Renner, 17, have been charged in the brutal killing of Preston, who was found critically injured on Queen Creek Road, outside Phoenix, after being attacked at a Halloween party in October.
Talan and five other suspects — Dominic Turner, 20, Talyn Vigil, 19, Taylor Sherman, 19, and Jacob Meisner, 17 — appeared in court Wednesday and all pleaded not guilty to murder. They are all charged as adults.
William Hines, 18, failed to appear in court after he allegedly refused to be turned over to a judge but also entered a plea of not guilty, as reported by ABC 15. The seventh suspect, Treston Billey, 18, is expected to appear in court Thursday.
Phoenix police had to apologize this week after Talan’s parents Becky and Travis Renner received special valet parking services from the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office — who drove their Tesla directly to the back exit of Durango Juvenile Court so they could avoid reporters.
It took months for authorities to name the suspects, with furious locals demanding justice, claiming the young boys’ powerful families were preventing justice from being served.
Seven young men, including high school football star Talan Renner, 17, have been charged in the brutal murder of Preston Lord, 16, who was beaten to death
Preston Lord, 16, was left for dead on a Queen Creek road outside Phoenix after being attacked at the party on October 28 and suffering critical injuries
Arizona businessman Travis Renner has been accused of helping his teenage son cover up the murder of a 16-year-old boy who was beaten to death after a house party
Ashley Reynolds, who worked for Talan’s father Travis Renner, has claimed she was an unwilling participant in a coverup that allegedly began as soon as Preston was critically injured.
The former employee of Relentless Media Agency said so Arizona Republic that her bosses Renner and Adam Kifer, CEO of Relentless Media Agency, openly discussed their plans to hide evidence and shift the blame to another boy with a ‘similar name’.
Travis Renner and his business partner were reportedly planning to bring Talan to the Show Low cabin until the injuries he sustained while dealing a beating. Detectives recorded that Renner’s family had ‘financial means to help flee to Mexico’ and he was taken out of the Phoenix area after the attack on Preston.
The businessmen said the beating was part of some sort of initiation as Talan wanted to participate in beatings like those carried out by the Goons, Reynolds said.
Court documents say none of the suspects knew Preston before attacking him over a gold chain.
Reynolds said she was asked to backdate electronic calendar entries to make it appear Talan was out of town on the day of the Halloween party. She added that her former bosses even devised a way for Renner to divest from the company to minimize the possibility of litigation.
Renner’s business partner Kifer then allegedly asked Reynolds to sign a non-disclosure agreement. He told the Arizona Republic that he has ‘no connection to the allegations involving the Renner family.’
Talan Renner will be seen on Wednesday before pleading not guilty. He is being held in a youth prison
On March 7, Talan Renner’s parents Becky and Travis Renner were escorted through a back exit from Durango Juvenile Court in Phoenix as they attended their son’s first court appearance
As the pair got to their white Model X Tesla, Becky grabbed her Louis Vuitton bag and Travis made a bold choice to wear bright orange trousers
Arizona police have admitted they made a mistake when they provided valet parking to the parents of a teenage boy charged with murder while they go to juvenile court
Treston Billey (left) and Talyn Vigil (right) have also been charged with Preston’s murder
Taylor Sherman (left) Dominic Turner (center), William Owen Hines top (right) have been charged with murder and kidnapping
Reynolds spoke to the local business before anyone had been charged with Preston’s murder.
Queen Creek Police Chief Randy Brice confirmed that detectives spoke with Reynolds, who provided information consistent with their findings.
“The statements that were made about our case confirmed what we already knew. … It was rather a confirmation than a contradiction,’ said the police chief. ‘This is information that we already knew through another set of interviews.’
Preston’s murder highlighted a growing case of gang violence by teenagers in the Phoenix area and other cities in Maricopa County. Police have said that motivated them to act against a street gang called the ‘Gilbert Goons’ who have been targeting teenagers and robbing stores in the Phoenix area.
The Renner home was searched by police in November, but Talan was not arrested until Wednesday.
Renner’s other son Kyler has been charged in connection with two separate gang attacks in a parking garage and a house party in 2022.
Travis Renner was also arrested in January on suspicion of drug possession and charges, while his son Kyler was taken into custody for the gang violence allegations.
The father has not been charged for the alleged cover-up.
A Lord family lawyer said: ‘For months, witnesses were threatened and terrorized into silence in this case.’
Travis Renner’s other son Kyler has been charged in connection with two gang attacks in a parking garage and a house party in 2022
Dominic Turner, 20, and Taylor Sherman, 19, will appear in court on Wednesday
“But for 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 towards accountability and justice for our son Preston.’
The quiet communities of the southeast Valley have been rocked by a series of teenage violence since last year, resulting in multiple injuries and three deaths.
In January, police in Arizona said they arrested members of a street gang called the ‘Gilbert Goons’ who attacked teenagers and robbed stores.
Activists have previously said the same gang was involved in Preston’s death.
After the fatal beating of Lord was detailed by the Arizona Republic last December, authorities reopened several cases believed to have been carried out by a larger group of assailants.
Victims and area residents described the group, the ‘Gilbert Goons,’ as ’20 or more mostly white, upper-middle-class teenagers from several East Valley high schools,’ according to the outlet.
Hundreds of community activists took to the streets in late December to demand justice and raise awareness of Lord, two months after his tragic death.