GILBERT, AZ — One of the five remaining defendants in the Preston Lord murder case has pleaded guilty in two unrelated misdemeanor cases.
Preston Lord, 16, was attacked and beaten, leaving a 2023 Queen Creek Halloween party. Six people were arrested and just one has taken a plea agreement.
Four of the five the remaining defendants have bonded out and are currently on house arrest and GPS monitoring while awaiting trial.
ABC15 was the first to report that Vigil, now 20, was arrested in the fall of 2025 for violating an order of protection. Then, in February, he was arrested again for reckless driving.
This spring, Maricopa County prosecutors in the murder case filed to have Vigil's release conditions revoked and a new higher bond amount set.
"I do think there are strong cases that show that he does have chances for those cases to be dismissed," said Vigil's attorney Jason Gronski at a superior court hearing in March.
In court, Gronski also raised questions regarding Vigil's second misdemeanor arrest.
Ultimately, Judge Sam Myers denied the motion filed by the Maricopa County Attorney's Office.
The judge said the major factors he considered were the teen’s already high bond, if he would show up to court, and if he was a danger to society.
ABC15 has now obtained municipal court records, including audio from a court hearing in June, which shows Vigil has now signed two plea agreements in both misdemeanor cases.
There were two cases stemming from the September incident, and one was dismissed.
In the February case, Vigil's charge was amended to disorderly conduct.
The two plea agreements, signed by Vigil, say he will be placed on probation for three years. The agreement shows he will avoid jail time, but there is a 180-day suspended sentence if he violates the terms of probation.
Vigil will also have to attend counseling and pay fines.
"You understand that while you're on pretrial services, it's possible that the other court could impose sanctions for a violation and pleading guilty in these new cases," said Judge Jarom Harris in municipal court.
ABC15 reached out to MCAO to see if they were considering taking any action regarding Vigil's release conditions or bond following these recent pleas. We were told nothing had been filed at this time.
Our team also reached out to attorney Armando Nava, who has been representing Vigil in municipal court. Nava told us he had no comment.
Vigil has one additional municipal court date scheduled for August.
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PRESTON LORD TRIAL UPDATE
All the remaining defendants, including Vigil, have pleaded not guilty in the Preston Lord murder case.
ABC15 has been tracking the trial dates, which have already been pushed back several times.
As previously reported, there will be multiple trials in the case.
Earlier this year, Judge Myers decided Talan Renner and Jacob Meisner will have their own individual trials.
Instead of setting all the dates at once, Judge Myers decided they would start with the first and then proceed forward from there.
Meisner is supposed to be the first defendant to head to trial in October.
According to recently filed court documents, interviews with witnesses are ongoing.
Several defense attorneys raised concerns with the scheduling and the "slow pace" of these interviews.
Meisner's attorney, Andrew Marcantel, has already started to raise concerns about the current trial date.
Court documents show he anticipates filing a motion to continue the trial if the "current rate" of witness interviews continues.
Those same documents show prosecutors still believe the current trial date is "viable".
