MARICOPA COUNTY — Talyn Vigil, one of the six remaining defendants charged in the Preston Lord murder case, will be back in court on Wednesday.
Prosecutors are pushing to have his pretrial release revoked after three misdemeanor arrests.
The most recent played out in Tempe last month. Vigil was booked on multiple misdemeanor charges, including reckless driving.
He is one of five defendants who are currently out on bond, with an ankle monitor and on house arrest.
Police said Vigil was on a motorcycle when he was pulled over in September.
Court documents, obtained by ABC15, show Vigil’s attorney is pushing back on the arrest.
"The Tempe Police's action clearly demonstrates a bias and hyper vigilance towards Mr. Vigil," said attorney Jason Gronski in the court filing,
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Gronski wrote that his client, Vigil, was on his way home from a medical appointment.
He alleges it was the other 23-year-old “friend”, with Vigil, who was riding “aggressively”.
Gronski said his client let officers know he was on pretrial release “because of Preston Lord”.
“Officer 1 immediately got excited and shouted, ‘YOU’RE A GILBER GOON!’” said the court filing.
PRESTON LORD: Talyn Vigil’s attorney is pushing back on his third misdemeanor arrest while out of custody awaiting trial. Prosecutors have asked the court to have Vigil taken back into custody until his trial. The 20 yr. old will appear in court tomorrow, as both sides argue… pic.twitter.com/e039vg4jR9
— Ashley Holden (@ashleyvholden) October 7, 2026
Gronski insists this started as a cite-and-release traffic stop but was turned into a “circus”. He also questioned if Vigil committed a traffic offense at all.
Vigil’s attorney calls prosecutors’ request to hold the 20-year-old until his trial “unheard-of”.
“Defendants in high-profile cases should be free from arrests on misdemeanors,” writes Gronski.
He is asking the court to deny prosecutors’ motion to revoke Vigil’s release.
Gronski asks, if the state’s motion is granted, that the only change be to Vigil’s driving privileges.
“…Tempe Police arrested a high-profile defendant in order to get a media circus to try and make themselves look like they are doing ‘good’ in the community,” said the filing.
POLICE, PROSECUTORS, AND PRETRIAL SERVICES
Vigil is currently not allowed to drive while out on bond following the most recent arrest.
ABC15 has filed a records request for the body camera video from Tempe.
Our team also reached out to Tempe police regarding Gronski’s motion.
“We are aware of the statements made in the defense filing,” said an email from their public relations manager. “The officers’ enforcement decisions were based on their observations and facts identified during the investigation. We will not comment further on allegations or characterizations made in a court filing while the matter is pending.”
The citation given to Vigil by Tempe police alleges he was driving 60 in a 35 miles per hour zone.
Vigil was previously arrested twice in Gilbert and this summer took plea deals in those misdemeanor cases. Those agreements meant he would avoid jail time, but the 20-year-old is currently on unsupervised probation.
Days after Vigil’s September arrest, the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office filed a petition to revoke Vigil’s release.
They filed a similar request regarding Vigil’s release conditions earlier this year, but it was denied by Judge Sam Myers.
MCAO’s latest request to the court said they were joining the recommendation made by the Pretrial Services Division, which oversees Vigil’s supervision.
Last week, all the parties gathered in front of the judge presiding over the murder case for oral arguments.
Prosecutors said they could show body camera footage, real-time crime center video, and the police report from Tempe, along with ankle monitor data.
Gronski said he had not seen all the evidence.
“Without thinking about it as deeply as I should have, it seems like it would be an open-and-shut case given the data,” said MCAO prosecutor Ryan Green. “But I did not realize he did not have the data.”
Gronski ultimately asked to have the hearing reset.
“I do need that information before I can make a proper argument and be able to go ahead and assert my client's innocence, what he’s told me,” said Gronski.
The parties all agreed to hold the evidentiary hearing and oral arguments, in front of Judge Myers, on Wednesday morning, October 7.
Prosecutors said they were planning to call a live witness, like a Tempe police officer, to “narrate some of the evidence”.
Currently, Vigil’s next municipal court date for the Tempe case is on October 22.
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