One of the alleged ‘Gilbert Goons’ accused of beating a 16-year-old boy to death at a party was allowed to continue playing football after becoming a suspect, it emerged.
Talan Renner, 17, is seen running his high school running back on November 17, where he was awarded “player of the game,” despite being investigated for the murder of Preston Lord on October 28.
The school initially said 12News They allowed him to star because at the time there was no evidence or arrests against any of his students.
But it has since emerged that the week before the game police served a search warrant for his phone and DNA while he was on the school campus.
Head football coach and athletic director Randy Ricedorff was fired in January after the scandal broke.
Preston died after being brutally beaten outside a Halloween party and abandoned on a road in Queen Creek, Arizona.
Five months passed, but Renner, Dominic Turner, 20, Talyn Vigil, 17, Taylor Sherman, 19, Jacob Meisner, 17, William Hines, 18, and Treston Billey, 18, were arrested.
Talan Renner, one of seven teens and young men charged with Preston’s murder, received the Player of the Game honor on Nov. 17, two weeks after Preston was assaulted.
Aside from the police showing up at his school, there was more evidence pointing to Talan as a suspect in Preston’s murder, as revealed in the police report on the case.
Preston was attacked by a group at a Halloween party on October 28
Andy Litten, the coach of the opposing school, Scottsdale Horizon, in the Nov. 17 game, told the local outlet that “the school surely knew” about Talan’s alleged involvement in the murder.
Litten said: “I was sent emails from concerned parents about how he was allowed to play BEFORE the game started.”
DailyMail.com contacted American Leadership Academy for comment on this story.
A police report reveals that Talan’s parents, accused of trying to help cover up his involvement in the murder, pulled him out of school early on October 31.
Talan’s parents told the school that he was being called a murderer on social media and that he did not return to school for the rest of the week.
On November 2, ALA Dean of Students Gilbert North contacted the Queen Creek Police Department to report that students were discussing Talan’s involvement in the murder.
But on Nov. 6, Talan was back at school, where detectives approached him and took his cell phone, photographs and DNA. Court documents noted that Talan had “small discoloration on the knuckles of his right and left hands and a small cut on his left hand near the wrist area.”
Police were informed at that time that Talan’s father, Travis Renner, had obtained an attorney and was not allowing the teenage suspect to speak to detectives.
The week before the game, police served a search warrant for Talan’s phone and DNA while he was on the school campus.
The seven suspects in the murder of Preston Lord, from top left to bottom right: Jacob Meisner, Talan Renner, Taylor Sherman, Treston Billey, Talyn Vigil, Dominic Turner, William Owe Hines
After the deadly fight, Talan wrote: “I got into a fight, a large group fight and accidentally killed a child.” He goes on to write: “I think I’m too strong,” one witness stated.
Aside from the police showing up at his school, there was more evidence pointing to Talan as a suspect in Preston’s murder, as revealed in the police report on the case.
Talan reportedly bragged to his Snapchat friends after throwing ‘hammer blows’ at Preston.
He allegedly wrote: “I got into a fight, a large group fight and accidentally killed a child.” I guess I’m too strong.
Police records allege that an unnamed boy danced on the dying teen’s body shortly after the beating, while others performed “fucking” (simulated acts of rape) to further degrade their victim.
Newly released communications said to be between Talan and his friends offer a chilling glimpse into the aftermath of the fatal beating, AZFamily reported.
Talan allegedly couldn’t help but brag after Lord was killed and texted fellow suspect Taylor Sherman to say, “I could have hospitalized that kid.” I hit him pretty hard.
The son of the millionaire gym owner is also said to have shown his friends a video of the fatal beating he had recorded on his phone while declaring: “Oh, I put this kid on life support.”
Arizona businessman Travis Renner has been accused of trying to help his teenage son cover up the murder.
Travis Renner’s other son, Kyler, has been charged in connection with two gang attacks in a parking lot and a house party in 2022.
More messages were sent two days after the attack. “Bro, that kid died,” one said. “Tresty or Talan could be charged with murder,” said another, referencing Treston Billey, who had allegedly stomped on Preston’s head.
All seven suspects pleaded not guilty, but not before Talan Renner’s parents allegedly attempted to plot an escape from justice for their son.
Talan’s father, Travis Renner, allegedly tried to hide evidence from the night of the beating and shift the blame to another boy with a similar name.
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.
Police are seen attempting to raid Renner’s family home to execute an arrest warrant earlier this month, only to find no one there.
On March 7, Talan Renner’s parents, Becky and Travis Renner, were escorted out a back exit of the Durango Juvenile Court in Phoenix while attending their son’s first court appearance.
Phoenix police had to apologize earlier this month after Talan’s parents, Becky and Travis Renner, received special valet parking services from police with the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office.
An officer was seen taking the millionaire gym owners’ white Tesla Model X to a private parking lot to avoid encountering a group of journalists.
It took months for authorities to identify the suspects, and angry locals demanded justice and claimed that the young men’s powerful families were preventing justice from being served.
Renner’s other son, Kyler, is also said to be a violent bully. He has been charged in connection with two separate gang attacks in a parking lot and a house party in 2022.
Travis Renner was also arrested in January on suspicion of drug possession and paraphernalia charges, while his son Kyler was arrested on allegations of gang violence.
He has not been charged with the alleged attempted cover-up.