2 more arrested in connection with death of teen Preston Lord
A fifth and sixth person have been arrested in connection with the fatal beating of Preston Lord, the southeast Valley teen whose killing shocked the community and brought to light a string of attacks by teens that persisted for more than a year.
Taylor Sherman, 19, was booked late Wednesday by the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office on one count of first-degree murder and one count of kidnapping.
Jacob Meisner, 17, was charged Thursday with first-degree murder, kidnapping and aggravated robbery, according to the Maricopa County Attorney's Office. He was in custody on other charges when he was served with the charges connected to Lord's death.
A Maricopa County grand jury on Wednesday indicted several people on charges stemming from the gang-style attack on Lord, 16, that occurred during an Oct. 28 Halloween party in Queen Creek. Lord died two days later in the hospital.
'There will be justice': Arrests in Preston Lord's death bring relief to East Valley
Four others have been charged so far in Lord's death: William "Owen" Hines, Talan Renner, Dominic Turner and Talyn Vigil.
Like Meisner, Renner and Vigil are juveniles but will be charged as adults. Hines is 18, and Turner is 20.
Renner, Vigil, Hines and Turner were all charged with first-degree murder and kidnapping. Turner also was charged with aggravated robbery.
All six defendants are being held on $1 million bonds, according to the County Attorney's Office.
Why was Jacob Meisner already in custody?
Meisner was arrested in January on suspicion of two assaults. He was accused of being part of an attack at a Gilbert house party in November 2022 and an attack at a Mesa park in May 2023. He was charged as a juvenile in both beatings.
The arrests came after a Dec. 14 investigation by The Arizona Republic that first reported the "Gilbert Goons" gang of teenagers had engaged in a string of attacks on other teens in the southeast Valley for more than a year, according to interviews, court and police records, and social media posts.
Meisner's family home in the wealthy Gilbert enclave of Whitewing was searched by police on Nov. 6 in connection with Lord's death, according to interviews and records.
Police descended on the gated community near the Latter-day Saints' Gilbert Arizona Temple — where houses sell for more than $1 million — with automatic weapons, an armored vehicle and evidence vans.
Meisner's mother has defended her son on Facebook and threatened "legal action" against parents and community activists in the southeast Valley who have created online communities dedicated to ending teen violence and demanding justice for Lord.
Wendi Meisner pushed back at posts naming her son as one of Lord's attackers, saying they were putting her family at risk. In a December post on a Facebook page under the name Lily Waterfield, she acknowledged her son was at the party where Lord was killed but said he had no involvement with the victim.
Waterfield, started in response to Lord's killing, is a hub for discussion among parents, students and activists. It is operated by a pair of Gilbert mothers who said they wanted to bring attention to the Lord case and the spate of teen violence rocking the southeast Valley suburbs.
"Would you turn your child in if he was at a party where something awful happened?" Wendi Meisner wrote. "For you and everyone here to judge & attack my family, parenting and livelihood is completely unacceptable & full blown slander."
Wendi Meisner said her family was cooperating with authorities "the best we can."
"Your page is causing threats and more violence and false accusations," she said in the post. "Trying to ruin other lives does not bring justice to Preston."
Jacob Meisner has been identified in attack videos and social media posts by multiple southeast Valley residents who have reviewed and cataloged them, including Waterfield co-operator Kristine Brennan and community activist Katey McPherson, a former teacher and school counselor.
Both Brennan and McPherson have organized rallies and marches to bring attention to Lord's death. They have appeared at public meetings in Queen Creek, Gilbert and Chandler, calling for action on teen violence. They have also blasted Gilbert police for failing to connect beating videos to the Gilbert Goons in the year before Lord died.
Jacob Meisner appears in three videos of gang assaults obtained by The Arizona Republic: one of the Mesa park attack, another at a Gilbert In-N-Out Burger and a third in a Gilbert parking garage.
A video clip of the Mesa attack shows a crowd of teenagers around a boy on the ground who is being hit repeatedly by a teen standing over him. As the pummeling continues, another boy steps into the frame and stomps on the victim.
In the video of the December 2022 attack outside the In-N-Out at San Tan Village Parkway and East Williams Field Road, the victim was hit at least 23 times by at least four attackers.
In the video of the Gilbert parking garage attack, a boy is hit, thrown on the ground and stomped while another boy is seen being held on the ground.
Among many social media posts reviewed by community members searching for information about the Goons was a picture of Jacob Meisner posing with what appears to be a gun. The photo appeared on his TikTok account, which included his handle.
The image, taken at night, shows three boys. One is exhaling a heavy cloud of smoke. Another is sitting atop a stop sign. Jacob Meisner is holding the black handgun in his right hand and flashing a thumbs-up with his left. He appears to be smiling.
Robert Anglen is an investigative reporter for The Republic. Reach him at [email protected] or 602-444-8694. Follow him on X @robertanglen.
Elena Santa Cruz is a criminal justice reporter for The Republic. Reach her at [email protected] or 480-466-2265. Follow her on X at @ecsantacruz3.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Two more arrests announced in Preston Lord homicide case