Brother of teen accused of killing Preston Lord while going to jail on drug charges

The brother of a teenager accused of murdering Preston Lord will be given probation for his involvement in a ‘Gilbert Goons’ attack – after serving a two-year prison sentence for drug abuse.

Kyler Renner, 19, pleaded guilty in September to aggravated assault during a December 2022 assault in a downtown Gilbert parking garage, and separately to multiple drug charges.

A judge sentenced Renner to prison on Thursday for possession of drugs for sale and ordered him to complete three years’ probation for the assault and remaining drug charges.

“This isn’t just about you being involved in an assault. This isn’t just about possessing drugs. … It’s not even about selling drugs. It’s everything,” said District Judge Bruce Cohen. Maricopa County Supreme Court. “You were a one-man wrecking crew engaged in criminal activity.”

Kyler Renner is the brother of Talan Renner, 18, one of the seven people charged in the murder of Lord, 16. Talan Renner, who is released on bailhas pleaded not guilty.

Their father, Travis Renner, was arrested in January on suspicion of violating drug laws. A judge on Monday granted the prosecutor’s request to stay his case for two years so he can complete a diversion program, court records show.

Members of Renner’s family read letters of support during Kyler Renner’s sentencing, saying he had a difficult upbringing and a negative relationship with drugs but has made positive changes. Renner also spoke to the court and acknowledged his “past crimes” in multiple aspects of his life.

“At a very young age, I was exposed to the wrong people and surrounded by negative influences,” Renner said. He became addicted to drugs over time, causing him to make poor choices, he said.

“After cleaning up my life and getting sober, I look back in disbelief that I am the one who committed these crimes. None of this I would ever do if I was sober,” Renner said.

A December investigation by The Arizona Republic linked Lord’s murder to the Goons, a gang of teenagers whose violence went unchecked by authorities even as the attacks were recorded and spread on social media. The investigation into some assaults was set aside; others were not on the police radar.

Cohen, who has presided over many Goons cases, told Renner he did not think he was a member of the group, and said there was a debate in the community about whether it was a street gang. Police officers in May said it was.

“No one I’ve met yet is a member of the Gilbert Goons, so it must be one of those folkloric campfire stories that people tell about the bogeyman on camping trips,” Cohen said.

But, he said, there was a group of young men, which he believed included Kyler Renner, who were “up to no good.”

Extended version of ‘Gilbert Goons’ parking garage fight

A 48-second video obtained by The Arizona Republic shows an unidentified person on the ground reaching into his pants and pulling out a black handgun.

Teenager kicked victim in the head: ‘So mean and so horrible,’ says judge

Kyler Renner in January was arrested in connection with two assaults from late 2022, but he was only charged for the parking garage attack on December 3, 2022.

A report was filed the night of the assault, but police said no witnesses or video evidence were available at the time of the assault, and the case was dormant for more than a year — until an unknown party posted a 28-second video supplied. the attack.

The video, which shows a victim being thrown to the ground and then punched and kicked, was used by authorities to file charges against Kyler Renner, Gage Garrison, 20, and Jack Woods, 18. Garrison and Woods took plea deals and was placed on probation.

A longer video of the brawl obtained by The Arizona Republic shows that an unidentified person in the parking garage had a gun before the attack. Woods’ father argued the longer video showed his son and his friends were threatened.

Cohen acknowledged the weapon and whether it changed the circumstances of the attack during Thursday’s hearing, but told Renner he was considering his guilty plea and not the debate over an issue that “has not been litigated.”

“What I have to decide is, did you kick someone in the head during an attack? The answer to that seems to be, yes, you did,” Cohen said. “What does it take for someone who claims to be the kind of person you are to kick someone in the head? That act in itself is so despicable and so heinous, and there is such a disregard for the well-being of the people necessary.” someone else.”

Elena Santa Cruz is a criminal justice reporter for The Republic. Reach her out [email protected]. Follow her on X @ecsantacruz3.

Robert Anglen is an investigative journalist for The Republic. Reach him out [email protected]. Follow him on X @robertanglen.