Preston Lord: Queen Creek mayor, PD chief give update on murder investigation
QUEEN CREEK, Ariz. - Queen Creek's mayor and police chief gave an update on the Preston Lord murder investigation.
The two gave the update during a town council meeting on Feb. 21. The update comes one day after police in Gilbert announced an arrest in connection with a separate teen violence case.
During the update, officials acknowledged a ruling made by the Maricopa County Medical Examiner's Office on Preston's death. The ruling deems Preston's death as a homicide.
No arrests have been made in Preston's death, but the Queen Creek Police Department submitted charges against seven people to the Maricopa County Attorney's Office.
Officials on Feb. 21 said they are still working hard on the investigation.
East Valley rocked by teen violence fallout
For months, various communities in Arizona have been dealing with violent incidents involving teens, including the incident that resulted in Preston's death.
Also read: Teen violence: Here's a list of suspects authorities have arrested
The incident that led to Preston's death happened in Queen Creek in October 2023, and a number of violent acts involving teenagers in other East Valley cities and towns were subsequently uncovered.
Preston Lord (file)
"To date, Gilbert PD has made a total of 41 arrests related to group teen violence since February 2022. We continue to ask the public that any information related to incidents of teen violence in Gilbert be reported by calling 480-503-6500 or through our online tip portal at glbrt.is/GPDSubmitATip," read a portion of the statement released by Gilbert Police on Feb. 20.