What we know about Preston Lord, the Queen Creek teen fatally assaulted at party
The death of a teen boy fatally assaulted outside a Halloween party in Queen Creek has garnered an outpouring of support from the community both online and off as police continue a homicide investigation.
Preston Lord, a student at Combs High School in San Tan Valley, died on Oct. 30 in a hospital.
No arrests had been made in the case as of Dec. 14. Police have asked the community to send them information, including photos and video, that might be relevant to the case.
What happened the night of the assault?
Just after 9 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 28, police received a nonemergency call about a "juvenile disturbance" in the area of Via del Oro and 194th Street. Officers went to the location and found multiple teenagers walking up and down the street, seemingly leaving a residence where they were gathering.
Queen Creek police Chief Randy Brice said officers did not observe a party at the time or notice any illegal activity. A few minutes later, they were sent to a "high-priority call" about a crime in progress at another location.
Just before 10 p.m., law enforcement received a 911 call about an assault in the area of the party, according to police. Officers arrived at the location and found a teenage boy, later identified as Lord, in the road.
Officers administered life-saving efforts and took the boy to a hospital with serious injuries, police said.
On Monday, Oct. 30, Lord died in the hospital, police said.
People who live near where the party took place told The Arizona Republic that the street was flooded with teenagers that Saturday night. They said teenagers were walking around the street, causing a normal amount of commotion for a teenage party. They said the partygoers were walking through their yards, and some threw trash into the yards.
Neighbors said that, near the time of the assault, they couldn't tell whether the commotion was typical for a party or was indicative of someone being assaulted. All they knew, they said, was that they saw a body lying on the ground near the stop sign at 194th Street and Via del Rancho. It looked like all of Queen Creek's police force was there, they said.
Neighbors said they watched as police and medical personnel arrived and tended to the teen until an ambulance arrived to take him to a hospital.
Cmdr. Mark Newman said there were several additional calls about the neighborhood that did come in, but only after police had responded to investigate the assault.
Are there suspects in the case?
Police have said Lord's death is being investigated as a homicide and asked the community to continue submitting tips. As of Dec. 14, they have not publicly identified any suspects.
After the one-month anniversary of Lord's assault, Brice said in a statement that though no arrests had been made, police were working to gather "proof beyond a reasonable doubt" to ensure a successful prosecution and conviction of the people responsible for Lord's death.
At a Queen Creek Town Council meeting on Dec. 6, Brice said more than 59 search warrants had been served concerning the Lord investigation. He also said police were awaiting the medical examiner's report about Lord, which could take months because of the case's complexity.
The 'Gilbert Goons' and attacks that came before the assault of Lord
Since Lord's death, community members have expressed concerns online and at public events about a group of 20 or more, mostly white, upper-middle-class teenagers from multiple Easy Valley high schools known as the "Gilbert Goons."
The group has carried out assaults on other teens for more than a year in mall parking lots, outside fast-food restaurants, at parks and at house parties, according to interviews, court and police records, and social media posts.
An investigation by The Republic has documented at least seven attacks involving the Goons in the past year. Many of the attacks have taken place in Gilbert, according to reports by victims and their families.
What are police saying about the 'Gilbert Goons'?
Queen Creek police have said they were "aware" of the Goons and "allegations of incidents committed in other jurisdictions." Officials would not elaborate on what role, if any, the Goons had in Lord's murder.
Gilbert police officials said they have not connected the assaults to the Goons or any other group, even in cases where the assaults occurred in the same location.
"We do not have documented incidents associated with that group name," Gilbert police officials said in a statement. "Gilbert PD has investigated all reported incidents and taken the proper actions to ensure any concerning behaviors or trends are addressed promptly."
On Dec. 13, the Gilbert Town Council released a statement saying Gilbert police, town management, and the council were aware of "social media posts alleging police investigations involving a group of Gilbert individuals who have been targeting teens in the East Valley."
Who were the 'Devil Dogs'?
The beating Preston Lord endured echoes the attacks of a teen gang, dubbed the "Devil Dogs," a quarter-century earlier.
The group that evolved into the Devil Dogs in 1999 was formed as far back as 1992. They terrorized Gilbert residents with a string of assaults and beatings. The group was connected to a mobster, drugs and white supremacist rhetoric. In the case of the Gilbert Goons, there appears to be no race-based motive for the attacks — or any particular motive at all.
The Devil Dogs was largely made up of middle-class white teens. Several were Highland High School student-athletes.
There were several documented cases of the Devil Dogs yelling white supremacist rhetoric, forcing others to do Nazi salutes and beating other boys. The gang members would yell racial slurs and bark at their victims during attacks.
One beating led to several teens serving jail sentences. Ties to a drug trafficking ring led to the group gaining national attention. A local outcry for accountability and a culture change led to an intervention in schools.
GoFundMe created for Preston Lord's family
Melissa Lord, Lord's aunt, started a GoFundMe on Oct. 30 where Lord's family has shared updates about the case. The fundraiser was initially created to help cover medical expenses for her nephew, who she said suffered from a severe brain injury.
According to Melissa Lord, her nephew was beaten and left unconscious during the Halloween party, which she said was attended mainly by students. Following the assault, kids at the party stepped in and rendered aid, according to a post by Melissa Lord on GoFundMe. First responders were able to restart Preston Lord's heart by performing CPR on him before police took him to the hospital, she wrote.
Preston Lord remained in the hospital for two days in extremely critical condition before the severity of his injuries claimed his life.
"We have no words for the support and love we have been shown. Thank you for loving us and our boy," Melissa Lord wrote on GoFundMe.
Who should I contact with information about Preston Lord's death?
The Queen Creek Police Department is accepting tips about Preston Lord's death via phone at 480-358-3575 or email at [email protected]. Anonymous tips, images and video can be submitted online to Queen Creek police at https://p3tips.com/952.
The FBI is accepting information at www.fbi.gov/prestonlord and via 1-800-CALL-FBI.
Republic reporters Maritza Dominguez and Robert Anglen contributed to this article.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Preston Lord fatally assaulted in Queen Creek: What we know