PHOENIX — A judge has granted two motions that sever the Preston Lord case into multiple trials, following concern regarding evidence, including the term "Gilbert Goons."
Preston Lord's family was in the courtroom on Tuesday as their attorney appealed to the judge before he made multiple major decisions.
See previous ABC15 coverage of the trial and the Preston Lord case in the player above.
The 16-year-old Lord was attacked and beaten while leaving a Queen Creek Halloween party in 2023 and died days later. His death sparked a movement against teen violence in the Valley.
Six defendants, including Talan Renner, Jacob Meisner, Taylor Sherman, Talyn Vigil, Treston Billey, and Dominic Turner, have been charged with felony murder and kidnapping.
A seventh defendant, William Owen Hines, is the only one so far to take a plea agreement. He is now serving 17 years behind bars, with 12 of those years being for his role in Preston's case.
Following Tuesday's decisions, Judge Myers pushed back the previously scheduled January 12 trial date to April 8, 2026.
MOTIONS TO SEVER
Back in November, four of the six remaining defendants in Preston Lord's case filed motions to sever.
In court filings, some attorneys had requested their client's case be separated for trial due to concern regarding evidence, including the term "Gilbert Goons."
The group was classified as a hybrid street gang by law enforcement in 2024.
Renner's attorneys included Gang Member Information Cards for Meisner and Hines in their filing.
On Tuesday, Judge Myers granted a severance to Meisner and Renner.
"Cases are going to remain together, all the codefendants are going to remain together as much as possible; but his trial will be separate from the others," said Judge Myers as he read his first decision regarding Meisner.
Prosecutors for two other defendants with outstanding motions, Sherman and Vigil, have until January 10 to file their responses, according to the judge.
Oral arguments for those motions are expected to be held later in January.
"He should be severed from these other co-defendants, so we're very happy about that," said Renner's attorney, David Cantor.
He insisted this further showed his client is not a member of the Gilbert Goons. Cantor also said Renner has never kidnapped anyone, and that is going to be a "major" part of the trial.
TRIAL SCHEDULE
Even with a trial date, it's unclear which defendant will be tried first.
There could be more than three trials, depending on the judge's ruling regarding the pending motions to sever.
Community members were present in the courtroom on Tuesday and told ABC15 they will continue to show up for the Lord family.
Bridget Vega, a community advocate, said the separation of the cases is not what they wanted to hear.
"Especially the emotional side of it and the trauma inflicted on the family," said Vega. "As we continue to say, it's been a living nightmare," Vega said.
The defendants are next scheduled to be in court in February.
