QUEEN CREEK, AZ — All seven people indicted in the Preston Lord case are due back in court this week. ABC15 has learned new details about the case from court documents, including one of the suspects who was allegedly taken out of the area after the attack.
Seven suspects in Lord’s case were taken into custody over four months after the 16-year-old was beaten at a Halloween party and later died.
Newly obtained court documents for Talan Renner, Talyn Vigil, and Jacob Meisner note they did not know Lord.
Those documents said the teen victim was unconscious when police arrived and had injuries to his face and the back of his head.
"Your honor for months in this case, numerous witnesses were threatened and terrified into silence," said the Lord family's attorney at Renner's initial appearance.
The fear of witnesses echoed in documents for Renner. Those documents also allege the teen suspect was "taken out of the area after the incident and tips indicate his family has the means to aid the teen in fleeing the country."
Renner’s attorney, David Cantor, spoke to ABC15 after his client's appearance in court last Thursday.
"We're going to fight this, and we are going to get to the bottom of this," said Cantor. "We're going to find all the facts that go to exonerate our client."
See the latest ABC15 coverage on the developments of the string of teen violence incidents here.
17-year-old Meisner was already in juvenile detention when he was served the warrant for this case. That document noted the teen suspect was being held for multiple teen violence cases that date back to November 2022.
"There is evidence of flight as mentioned by counsel for the victim," said a Prosecutor with the Maricopa County Attorney's Office at Meisner's initial appearance. "And there is evidence that the defendants destroyed or attempt to destroy evidence in this case."
Meisner is one of three indicted for aggravated robbery. The other two suspects facing that charge include Treston Billey and Dominic Turner.
On Friday MCAO confirmed to ABC15 that a necklace was taken from another victim on the same night Preston was attacked. Court documents describe that person as a minor only listed as "Victim A" in the indictment.
MCAO also told ABC15 that at some point Lord and a group went running and were chased before the attack took place.
Queen Creek Police told ABC15 at the end of February that the attack took place "very quickly". At that time they also said, "We believe that we understand why the attack happened".
Almost all the suspects will be in court for their arraignment Wednesday.
Billey, who was the last to be taken into custody, will appear in court Thursday.
TIMELINE: A look at teen violence in the East Valley
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