PHOENIX — Four people, including two juveniles, have been charged in the fatal assault of a teenage boy during a Halloween party last year in the Phoenix suburb of Queen Creek, and authorities announced two more arrests Thursday.
Preston Lord, 16, died of his wounds two days after the Oct. 28 gang-style attack that shocked the community.
The Arizona Republic reported in December that investigators suspect Lord was killed by a gang called the “Gilbert Goons,” who recorded blitz-style attacks in parks, parking garages, outside fast-food restaurants and at house parties and posted the videos to social media. .
Activists held vigils and marched to protest rising gang violence in Gilbert, Mesa, Chandler and other Phoenix suburbs.
Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell announced at a news conference Wednesday evening that Dominic Turner, 20; William Owen Hines, 18; and two 17-year-old boys are each charged with first-degree murder and kidnapping. Both juveniles are charged as adults and Turner is also charged with aggravated robbery.
Hines was already in custody on unrelated assault charges, while the other three suspects were charged Wednesday, Queen Creek police said.
Two more suspects — an adult and a juvenile — were arrested Thursday, and more arrests could come later, prosecutors said.
Lord’s death was ruled a homicide by the province’s medical examiner’s office last month.
Mitchell said her office reviewed, among other things, 600 videos and a 2,000-page police report to develop the case against the four suspects.
“This investigation is not over,” Mitchell said. “There is more information to review and there is a possibility that additional charges may be incurred.”
Lord’s parents, Nick Lord and Autumn Curiel, said in a statement that “each arrest represents a step toward accountability and justice for our son Preston.”
Lord attended high school in San Tan Valley, where he served on the student council and played basketball, football and golf, according to the Arizona Republic.
