What to know about people arrested in Preston Lord's death and what happens next

Three juveniles and four adults were taken into custody to face murder and kidnapping charges in the fatal beating death of 16-year-old Preston Lord.

Arrests came in the hours and days after a Maricopa County grand jury handed up indictments on March 6.

Queen Creek police, who led the homicide investigation, executed arrest warrants in dramatic fashion, raiding suburban neighborhoods in armored vehicles and blasting orders on loudspeakers for occupants to come out of houses as helicopters hovered overhead.

At least two of the people indicted were not home and later turned themselves in. Within 48 hours, all seven suspects had appeared before a judge and were ordered held on $1 million bonds.

Those charged were: Treston Billey, 18; William "Owen" Hines, 18; Jacob Meisner, 17; Talan Renner, 17; Taylor Sherman, 19; Dominic Turner, 20; and Talyn Vigil, 17.

Renner, Vigil and Mesiner were to be charged as adults.

All were charged with first-degree murder, second-degree murder and kidnapping. Billey, Meisner and Turner also were charged with aggravated robbery.

Their arrests came a little more than four months after Lord was beaten in a gang-style attack. His killing shocked the southeast Valley and brought to light a string of attacks by teens that persisted for more than a year.

Here is a briefing on key details of the case and those who have been charged.

Was Preston Lord fatally beaten over a $10 necklace?

Prosecutors say the theft of a cheap necklace from one of Lord's friends set in motion events that led to the 16-year-old's fatal beating during an Oct. 28 Halloween party in Queen Creek.

They say his attackers snatched the necklace, and when Lord and his friends attempted to get it back, a confrontation erupted — then Lord and his friends ran away.

His attackers gave chase, caught Lord, and in a matter of seconds beat him and left him lying on the side of a street, prosecutors said.

Prosecutors describe the stealing of the necklace as the catalyst for a sequence of events. They said it was not the motive for the attack.

Queen Creek police Chief Randy Brice said the attack lasted seconds and was not stationary. He described the beating as unfolding as Lord moved through throngs of teenage partygoers.

Why kidnapping? Explaining the 'felony murder' charge in the Lord case

Who was Preston Lord and what happened to him?

Lord was a popular student at Combs High School in nearby San Tan Valley. He served on the student council and played basketball, football and golf.

He was among hundreds of teenagers who descended on the Halloween party after word of the gathering spread via social media.

At about 9 p.m. on Oct. 28, police responded to the area of 194th Street and Via del Oro in Queen Creek for a "juvenile disturbance." When police arrived, they found multiple teenagers walking up and down the street, seemingly leaving a residence where they had gathered.

There were conflicting accounts of what happened next. Some witnesses told The Arizona Republic the party was out of control. Brice said officers did not observe a party when they arrived and did not notice any illegal activity. Officers left after they were sent to a "high-priority" call about a crime in progress elsewhere, he said.

At 9:49 p.m., police received a 911 call about an assault in the same neighborhood, a few houses from the earlier call. When they arrived, they found Lord lying in the roadway.

He died two days later, on Oct. 30, of traumatic brain injuries.

On Dec. 28, the two-month anniversary of Lord's beating, Queen Creek police referred charges against seven people to the Maricopa County Attorney's Office for prosecution.

A $10 gold necklace and murder: The confrontation that cost Preston Lord his life

Was Preston Lord's attack tied to the 'Gilbert Goons?'

Some of the people charged in Lord's attack have ties to the gang known as the "Gilbert Goons." For more than a year, Goons have carried out assaults on teenagers in the southeast Valley.

A Dec. 14 investigation by The Republic detailed how Lord's death was tied to Goons, who recorded their blitz-style attacks in parks, parking garages, outside fast-food restaurants and at house parties.

Most of the attacks occurred in Gilbert and went unchecked by police there for more than a year. Other Goon attacks were recorded in Mesa, Chandler and Pinal County. There's no evidence yet that any attack occurred in Queen Creek before the one on Lord.

At least two of Lord's alleged attackers, Hines and Meisner, were arrested by police in January and are facing charges in attacks in Gilbert and Mesa tied to the Goons. Both were already detained when they were charged in Lord's case.

Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell acknowledged the overlap of individuals involved in Goon attacks and Lord's murder.

What do we know about the suspects?

Treston Billey, 18: The Perry High School graduate turned himself in to the police on March 7. He is charged with robbery in connection with the necklace, which prosecutors say was taken from a friend of Lord's.

William "Owen" Hines, 18: Gilbert police arrested Hines in January and accused him of being involved in a Goon attack on a teen at a Gilbert house party in November 2022. Police also accused him of taking part in another Goon attack on a teen at the Gilbert In-N-Out Burger in December 2022. Prosecutors accused him of attempting to destroy evidence after the attack.

Jacob Meisner, 17: Meisner was served with an arrest warrant in the Lord case on March 7. He was served in a detention facility, where he is being held on suspicion of attacks tied to the Goons. He was accused of robbery in Lord's attack.

Gilbert police arrested Meisner on suspicion of involvement in the attack at a Gilbert house party in November 2022, which also led to Hines' arrest. Mesa police arrested Meisner in January in connection with an attack on a juvenile at a Mesa park in May 2023. He was charged as a juvenile in both the house party and park beatings. A judge ordered him held without bail. Meisner has been identified in other videos of Goon attacks.

Talan Renner, 17: Renner turned himself in to police on March 6. His home was among those targeted in a dramatic Nov. 6 search in the gated Gilbert community of Whitewing. He has for months been targeted by community activists, who have accused him of being part of the attack on Lord.

His brother, Kyler Renner, 18, was arrested in January on suspicion of two gang attacks in Gilbert. Those include an attack at a Gilbert parking garage in December 2022 and the November 2022 Gilbert house party in which Hines and Meisner also have been arrested. Kyler Renner also was arrested in January on drug charges.

Their father, Travis Renner, 50, was arrested on the same day as Kyler Renner, on suspicion of drug possession and paraphernalia charges. He has been accused by a former employee of trying to cover up Talan Renner's alleged involvement in the Lord killing.

Taylor Sherman, 19: He was booked into jail on March 6 by the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office. He appeared before a judge the next day. Prosecutors at his initial court appearance said Sherman attempted to destroy evidence after Lord's attack and planned a "potential story" about what happened that night.

Dominic Turner, 20: He was taken into custody on March 6 and appeared before a Maricopa County Superior Court judge the next day. He is accused of robbery in connection with Lord's attack. Prosecutors said in court that he took evidence from the scene of Lord's attack.

Talyn Vigil, 17: Vigil made incriminating statements about his involvement in Lord's death, according to an interview and a social media post. His former girlfriend told police that just minutes after the fatal beating, he climbed into a car and bragged: "I knocked that kid out."

The girl's mother recounted the moment to The Republic in a December interview. Karli Heinmiller said her daughter was interviewed by detectives who later had her walk them through the crime scene.

Days after Lord's death, Vigil appeared to make a confession on Snapchat. A screenshot of the post has circulated widely on social media.

"I hit a kid and this kid feel hit his head and then they kicked his head in the ground then i got word he died so idk," the post read.

The Republic could not verify the authenticity of the post. The teenager and his parents have not responded to multiple interview requests about it.

Are Preston Lord's attackers facing the death penalty?

Meisner, Renner and Vigil face a maximum of life in prison because juveniles in Arizona cannot be sentenced to death.

Prosecutors could seek the death penalty against Billey, Hines, Sherman and Turner.

Mitchell said that decision would ultimately be hers to make. But it will come after a rigid, long-standing procedure of review and recommendation by a senior team of attorneys in her office.

Why are juveniles being charged as adults?

In Arizona, a person 15 or older must be prosecuted as an adult when they are charged with a violent felony or have a prior felony conviction.

First- and second-degree murder are categorized as a violent felony. Charges that require adult criminal prosecution include first- and second-degree murder, forcible sexual assault and armed robbery.

There are other situations when a juvenile 14 or older may be charged as an adult at the prosecutor's discretion. These include manslaughter, negligent homicide and non-aggravated assault.

When minors face adult prosecution, they could be held at a juvenile detention center or in a jail for adults. A judge decides where a minor will be held after considering several factors, such as the seriousness of the charge, the jail's ability to meet the needs of the minor, the safety of the minor and other inmates, the defendant's age and a past criminal record.

Can someone be convicted of both first- and second-degree murder?

Yes. The seven charged in Lord's death could be convicted of both first- and second-degree murder.

Lord's attackers met the first-degree murder charge threshold because they killed Lord during the commission of an underlying felony, specifically kidnapping, Mitchell said.

Mitchell described second-degree murder as an "and/or" charge for a jury to consider if the case goes to trial.

A jury could convict on a second-degree murder charge as an alternative to a first-degree murder charge or could convict defendants on both charges.

About the Lord case charges: How are 1st- and 2nd-degree murder charges different?

Why are Lord's attackers accused of kidnapping?

The kidnapping charge doesn't mean Lord's alleged assailants took him somewhere against his will.

Arizona law defines kidnapping as "knowingly restraining another person" with the intent to hold them for ransom; use them as a shield or hostage; hold them for involuntary servitude; inflict death, physical injury or a sex offense on them; hold them in aid of the commission of a felony; interfere with government work; take control of a plane, train, ship or automobile; or make them or someone else believe they or someone else was "in reasonable apprehension of imminent physical injury."

Will there be more arrests?

Police and prosecutors say the seven indictments are just the beginning. They say more arrests and charges could be coming as the investigation expands.

Mitchell said additional charges could result from the potential designation of the Gilbert Goons as a criminal street gang. That could lead to "assisting a criminal street gang" charges against some of Lord's attackers and members of the Goons involved in other beatings.

Mitchell also left open the possibility of bringing "tampering" charges against anyone who helped hide evidence related to Lord's beating death.

A former employee of a Chandler media agency owned by Renner's father has accused him of trying to cover up his son's involvement in Lord's death.

Ashley Reynolds said Travis Renner and his business partner, Adam Kifer, plotted to protect Talan Renner by moving him out of town and hiding hand injuries he sustained in the beating.

Reynolds said the pair also concocted a plan to pin the killing on Talyn Vigil since his name is so similar to Talan Renner's.

Brice told The Republic in a Feb. 20 interview that his department could make additional criminal referrals.

"We might," Brice said. "We're still working on it because obviously one thing — we want to get the maximum charge possible. And so some of that is developing the probable cause to get the maximum charge. And there are some challenges."

Republic reporter Miguel Torres contributed to this article.

Elena Santa Cruz is a criminal justice reporter for The Republic. Reach her at [email protected] or 480-466-2265. Follow her on X @ecsantacruz3.

Robert Anglen is an investigative reporter for The Republic. Reach him at [email protected] or 602-444-8694. Follow him on X @robertanglen.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Preston Lord case: What to know about people arrested in teen's death