An Arizona high school football star has pleaded not guilty after his father was accused of trying to help him cover up the murder of 16-year-old Preston Lord.
Seven young men including Talan Renner, 17, have been charged in the brutal killing of Lord, who was found critically injured on Queen Creek road, outside Phoenix, after being attacked at a Halloween party in October.
Talan and five other suspects – Dominic Turner, 20, Talyn Vigil, 19, Taylor Sherman, 19 and Jacob Meisner, 17 – appeared in court on Wednesday and all pleaded not guilty the murder.
William Hines, 18, did not appear in court after he reportedly refused to be transferred to face a judge but also entered a plea of not guilty, as reported by ABC 15. The seventh suspect, Treston Billey, 18, is expected to appear in court on Thursday.
Phoenix police had to apologize this week after Talan’s parents Becky and Travis Renner received special valet parking services from the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office cops – who drove their Tesla straight to the back exit of the Durango Juvenile Court so they could avoid journalists.
Authorities took months to name the suspects, with enraged locals who demanded justice and claimed the young boys’ powerful families were preventing justice from being served.
Seven young men including high school football star Talan Renner, 17, have been charged in the brutal murder of Preston Lord, 16, who was beaten to death
Preston Lord, 16, was left to die on a Queen Creek road outside Phoenix after being attacked at the party on October 28 and suffering critical wounds
Arizona businessman Travis Renner has been accused of helping his teen son cover up the murder of a 16-year-old boy who was beaten to death after a house party
Ashley Reynolds, who worked for Talan’s father Travis Renner, has claimed she was an unwilling participant in a coverup that allegedly began as soon as Preston was critically injured.
The former employee at the media company told Arizona Republic that her bosses Renner and Adam Kifer, CEO of Relentless Media Agency, openly discussed their plans to hide evidence and shift blame on another boy with a ‘similar name.’
Travis Renner and his business partner reportedly plotted to bring Talan to Show Low cabin until the injuries he sustained in the beating healed. Detectives recorded that Renner’s family had ‘financial means to aid in fleeing to Mexico.’
The businessmen said the beating was part of some sort of initiation, as Talan wanted to participate in beatings like the ones carried out by the Goons, Reynolds said.
Court documents say none of the suspects knew Lord before they attacked him over a gold chain.
Reynolds said she was instructed to backdate electronic calendar entries to make it appear as if Talan was out of town the day of the Halloween party. She added her former bosses even came up for a way for Renner to divest himself from the company to minimize the possibility of lawsuits.
Renner’s business partner Kifer then allegedly requested Reynolds sign a nondisclosure agreement. He told Arizona Republic he has ‘no connection to the allegations involving the Renner family.’
Talan Renner is seen on Wednesday before pleading not guilty. He is being held in a juvenile detention center
On March 7, Talan Renner’s parents Becky and Travis Renner were escorted through a back exit of the Durango Juvenile Court in Phoenix as they attended their son’s first appearance in court
Treston Billey (left) and Talyn Vigil (right) have also been charged in Preston’s murder
Taylor Sherman (left) Dominic Turner (center), William Owen Hines top (right) have been charged with murder and kidnapping
Reynolds spoke with the local outlet before anyone had been charged with Preston’s murder.
Queen Creek police Chief Randy Brice confirmed detectives spoke with Reynolds, who provided information that aligned with their findings.
‘The statements that were made that related to our case corroborated what we already knew. … It was corroboration rather than a contradiction,’ the police chief said. ‘It’s information that we already knew through a different set of interviews.’
Preston’s murder highlighted a growing cases of group violence by teenagers in the Phoenix area and other towns in Maricopa County. Police have said it motivated them to take action against a street gang dubbed ‘Gilbert Goons’ that has been attacking teenagers and robbing stores in the Phoenix area.
The Renner home was raided by police in November, but Talan was not arrested until Wednesday.
Renner’s other son Kyler has been charged in connection with two separate gang attacks at a parking garage and a house party in 2022.
Travis Renner was also arrested in January on suspicion of drug possession and paraphernalia charges while his son Kyler was taken into custody over the gang violence claims.
The father has not been charged with the alleged coverup.
A Lord family attorney said, ‘For months witnesses were threatened and terrified into silence in this case.’
Travis Renner’s other son Kyler has been charged in connection with two gang attacks at a parking garage and a house party in 2022
Dominic Turner, 20, and Taylor Sherman, 19, are seen in court on Wednesday
‘But for law enforcement’s collective efforts and community members’ invaluable cooperation, these arrests would not have happened,’ Preston’s family said in a statement. ‘Each arrest represents a step towards accountability and justice for our son Preston.’
The quiet communities in southeast Valley have been shaken by a string of teen violence since last year, resulting in multiple injuries and three deaths.
In January, Arizona police said they arrested members of a street gang dubbed the ‘Gilbert Goons’ who were attacking teenagers and robbing stores.
Activists have previously said the same gang was involved in Preston’s death.
After the fatal beating of Lord was detailed by the Arizona Republic last December, authorities reopened multiple cases believed to have been conducted by a larger group of assailants.
Victims and residents in the area described the group, the ‘Gilbert Goons’, as ’20 or more, mostly white, upper-middle-class teenagers from multiple East Valley high schools,’ according to the outlet.
Hundreds of community activists took to the streets in late December to demand justice and raise awareness for Lord, two months after his tragic death.