7 arrested in Preston Lord's death

Mar. 7—The Queen Creek Police Department arrested seven individuals in connection with Preston Lord's death, according to Rachel Mitchell, Maricopa County attorney.

She identified them as:

*

William Owen Hines

Charges: one count first-degree murder and in the alternative second-degree murder, both class one felonies; one count kidnapping, a class-two felony.

*

Talan Renner

Charges: one count first-degree murder and in the alternative second-degree murder, both class one felonies; one count kidnapping, a class two felony.

*

Dominic Turner

Charges: one count aggravated robbery, a class three felony; one count first-degree murder and in the alternative second-degree murder, both class one felonies; one count kidnapping, a class two felony.

*

Talyn Vigil

Charges: one count first-degree murder and in the alternative second-degree murder, both class one felonies; one count kidnapping, a class two felony.

*

Jacob Meisner

Charges: one count aggravated robbery, a class three felony; one count of first-degree murder and/or second-degree in the alternative, class one felonies; one count kidnapping, a class two felony.

*

Taylor Sherman

Charges: one count first-degree murder and/or second-degree in the alternative, class one felonies; one count kidnapping, a class two felony.

*

Treston Billey

Charges: aggravated robbery, first-degree murder and/or second-degree murder in the alternative and kidnapping.

The first four arrests were announced during a 7 p.m. press conference on March 6. Meisner, Sherman and Billey's arrests were revealed on March 7.

"We extend heartfelt gratitude to the community members who stepped up to provide information to secure these arrests," said Nick Lord and Autumn Curiel, Preston Lord's parents, in a statement.

"But for law enforcement's collective efforts and community members' invaluable cooperation, these arrests would not have happened. Each arrest represents a step toward accountability and justice for our son, Preston."

His aunt, Melissa Lord, issued a statement as well.

"Today is the day I have prayed for," she said. "I pray now our hearts can start to properly start to grieve, knowing the boys responsible for murdering my nephew are going to be held accountable.

"I only wish the parents of these boys would've done the right thing from the beginning and not drawn this out 18 week and four days. That is incomprehensible to me. I pray for their hearts tonight as I cannot imagine coming to terms with what your sons have done and that you have remained silent and not given our family a small bit of closure. To the boys, I'm grateful you will have to be clothed in Preston's favorite color for a very, long time please remember him each time you put orange on and the beautiful life you chose to take from this world."

Mitchell agreed.

"We are talking about the death of a 16-year-old boy," Mitchell said. "As I've said in the past, we've spoken to his family, and they are in agony. The loss of a child is unimaginable for any of us. To live it is a whole new level of horror.

"To all of those who have continued to post innumerable ill-informed theories on social media, pause and consider the effect you may have on this family for the past several months. Now you are about to see the crucial steps of the real legal process at work."

Queen Creek Police Chief Randy Brice said all were arrested without injury or incident.

"What has happened is a massive step forward in the justice for Preston Lord," Mitchell said. "He was beaten while attending a party. He died two days later in the hospital. Too many people have complained that nothing has happened. The family heard that.

"You could not have been more wrong. The Queen Creek Police Department has spent hundreds of hours piecing together an extremely complex case."

The Maricopa County Attorney's Office asked for an investigative grand jury, she said. It is used to conduct further investigations beyond the police department's investigations. For example, it can require witnesses to appear in front of them and/or subpoena documents.

Because the proceedings are secret, Mitchell could not discuss further.

"I'm not going to tell you who was called," she said. "These were done with extra speed. They've been investigating since Feb. 7. Another piece of evidence we absolutely had to have was the medical examiner's report. That was received on Feb. 14."

Lord, 16, was beaten following a party in Queen Creek on Oct. 28. At 9:49 p.m., the Queen Creek Police Department received a 911 call regarding an assault near 194th Street and Via Del Rancho in Queen Creek. Lord was found in the roadway and transported to the hospital with life-threatening injuries. He died Oct. 30 in the hospital.

Because the cases related to Lord's death were submitted to the Maricopa County Attorney's Office in late December 2023, prosecutors — including those at the most senior level of the office — have undertaken a detailed review of 600 videos and a 2,000-page police report among other evidence to develop the case against those indicted.