One of the seven suspects accused in the beating death of Preston Lord was back in court Wednesday as his attorneys fought to have the case sent back to a grand jury. This came after a motion was filed for a new probable cause determination. Lord’s family, including his dad, listened in as new details were learned in the case.
19-year-old William Owen Hines’ legal team zeroed in on the Grand Jury presentation that played out in February and March of this year. One of his attorneys, Rachel Golubovich, told the judge there were issues with instructions given to the Grand Jury.
“The presentation in this case was not fair, it was not impartial, and it requires a remand in this case,” said Golubovich.
She also raised concerns about when and how statements allegedly made by her client were presented.
“William’s statements about how he thought he only kicked once, how he realized Preston Lord was unconscious right when he kicked him,” said Golubovich. “And when he realized he was unconscious he tried to stop the fight.”
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But she said not all of his statements were presented to the Grand Jury each time.
ABC15 has reported on what was said during a police interview, as it was detailed in the 1,100-page report from the Queen Creek Police Department.
“When you look at the totality of what was presented, this was a very fair impartial presentation,” said County Attorney Ryan Green.
On Wednesday, the teen’s team appeared to have an uphill battle. Green, with the help of other prosecutors, pushed back on each argument Hines’ defense team made.
“It’s not just evidence from his own mouth that he was a participant,” said Green. “That is corroborated with video evidence, ring video evidence, there’s photographic and social media evidence.”
In court prosecutors for the first time said information about the “Gilbert Goons”, a group now considered a hybrid street gang, was presented to the Grand Jury.
“We specifically avoided giving the Grand Jury law enforcement’s opinion on whether that group the “Gilbert Goons” matched the statutory definition,” Green said.
Judge Bruce Cohen ultimately said the Grand Jury presentation was fair and denied the motion for a new probable cause determination.
Lord’s grandpa, Tony Reich, was in the courtroom and breathed a sigh of relief after hearing those words. After court, he spoke with ABC15.
“I didn’t realize the severity of what was going on today, and if it would have went the other day it would have just destroyed the case,” said Reich. “And it didn’t we got a very favorable outcome by him.”
But he said the family is aware this is just one day in what is a long journey ahead.
All seven suspects are charged with murder, but have pleaded not guilty.
At least one other has filed a motion similar to what was denied Wednesday.
Judge Cohen is set to retire after this year, and Judge Sam Myers will be taking over the case in January.
ABC15 did reach out to Hines' attorney for comment but has not received a response.
