Seven individuals accused in the tragic demise of 16-year-old Preston Lord stepped into a courtroom Wednesday, for what has been months since their last collective appearance. According to FOX 10 Phoenix, all suspects have pled not guilty to charges of first-degree murder, with some also facing robbery allegations. The somber proceedings yesterday had defense attorneys wading through a formidable assortment of evidence, encompassing numerous interviews and extensive digital data which the state is in the process of narrowing for the trial set to commence in July.
Judge Bruce R. Cohen, presiding over the case, made clear his intentions to steer it towards a July 21 trial date, as per a report by AZFamily. Aimed at avoiding unnecessary congregation in the courtroom and lessening the further trauma to the victim's family, Cohen announced future nonappearance conferences. "I would like to minimize the amount of additional trauma or difficulty that everybody has to experience. It doesn’t mean we’re doing a nonappearance date we’re kicking the can down the road. It just means that we don’t need to have everybody gather for us to make progress," Cohen elucidated.
One defense attorney challenged the trial date, citing the overwhelming volume of evidence—a trove of 200 videos, over 6,000 pages of documents, and up to 400 witnesses, which must all be scrupulously reviewed. Meanwhile, outside the courthouse, Lord's family and supporters, donned in his favorite color orange, expressed their determination to seek justice. "To make sure that the assailants in his case are held accountable for what they did to take his life," Melissa Ciconte, Lord's stepmother, told AZFamily.
The suspects, Treston Billey, Dominic Turner, William Hines, Taylor Sherman, Talan Renner, Jacob Meisner, and Talyn Vigil, stand accused not only of first-degree murder but also kidnapping. Billey, Meisner, and Turner are additionally facing charges of aggravated robbery. With a future court date for the 17-year-old Renner set for September, and the release conditions under scrutiny, FOX 10 Phoenix notes that he remains held on a $1 million bond. Sherman, Vigil, and Billey, however, are out on bond.
Conviction for the accused could result in a lengthy judicial aftermath, with potential decades of appeals anticipated. Meisner and Hines face additional charges related to other separate teen-targeted ambush-style attacks. Lord's life met its unjust end after being beaten outside a Halloween party in October 2023, passing away two days later at the hospital. Lord was an unfortunate stranger to his assailants before that night, as court documents disclosed.
