CHICAGO — Three men and a juvenile have been charged with first-degree murder in the slaying of 24-year-old Chicago police officer Aréanah Preston.
Travell Breeland, 19, Joseph Brooks, 19, Jakwon Buchanan, 18, and Jaylan Frazier, 16, have all been charged with first-degree murder. Frazier has been charged as an adult.
In bond court, all four were held without bail — with the judge saying he could not ensure the public safety of the community after their alleged “violent crime spree.”
Their next court date is scheduled for May 30.
In bond court, an assistant state’s attorney alleged the group conducted five robberies and one carjacking in approximately a two-hour time frame prior to the deadly shooting.
“(Preston) was a beloved daughter, sister and friend who wanted to make a difference in this world,” Carter said during a Wednesday morning news conference when the charges were announced.
On early Saturday morning, Preston had just returned from a shift in the 5th District when she was shot in the 8100 block of South Blackstone Avenue at around 1:42 a.m.
Police believe the group were in a stolen red Kia Forte, taken from the 4700 block of South Indiana about an hour before Preston was shot.
Police said at least three of the four exited the vehicle and at least two fired at Preston, who was still in her uniform and returned fire.
The group continued shooting at her and stole her firearm before fleeing back in the vehicle, police allege. Police said around 20 minutes following the shooting, the vehicle used was found in the 7200 block of South Rhodes. Police believe it was intentionally set on fire.
According an analysis of police radio traffic and sources, she was found at around 2:15 a.m. by a traffic officer. At the time of the shooting, authorities were made aware of a ShotSpotter alert after at least nine shots were fired in the area.
At around 2:02 a.m., Preston’s Apple Watch sent a distress 911 call.
Police have not publicly stated a reason for the response time, but a source told WGN News there were not enough squad cars available.
Preston was set to graduate with a master’s degree in Law from Loyola University Chicago on Saturday, May 13 — with dreams one day of joining the FBI to further a career investigating sex crimes, according to Loyola Law Professor Sara Block. Loyola University Chicago will posthumously confer Preston’s Master’s degree with her mother, Dionne Mhoon, accepting the degree on her behalf.
“I had a beautiful daughter that I know deserves justice,” Mhoon told reporters on Wednesday after a bond hearing. “As I sat in that courtroom today, the people I really felt sorry for, were those boys.”
Mhoon said she is praying for the suspects and their families.
“Any time you can shoot somebody and say, ‘that was my work,’ what kind of human would say that about another human being?” Mhoon said.
At her vigil Tuesday night, CPD Cmdr. Tyrone Pendarvis said he was among the first to hear the news.
“That could happen to any one of us,” he said. “Knowing how she handled herself on the street, I never would have thought it would have been her.”
The following day after the deadly shooting, CPD reported a SWAT incident occurred in the 7600 block of South Bishop Avenue around 8:25 p.m. In that incident, the three others were taken into custody after Buchanan was arrested in an Uber outside, prosecutors allege.
A list of the full charges is below.
Travell Breeland:
- First-degree murder
- Murder, other forcible felony
- Two counts of robbery, armed with a firearm
- Possession of a stolen vehicle
- Burglary
- Arson
Joseph Brooks:
- First-degree murder
- Murder, other forcible felony
- Murder, strong probability of death
- Five counts of armed robbery
- Possession of a stolen vehicle
- Burglary
Jakwon Buchanan:
- First-degree murder
- Murder, other forcible felony
- Armed robbery
- Possession of a stolen vehicle
- Burglary
- Arson
- Unlawful use of a weapon, machine gun
- Aggravated unlawful use of a firearm
Jaylan Frazier :
- First-degree murder
- Murder, other forcible felony
- Armed robbery
- Possession of stolen vehicle
- Burglary
- Arson
The full news conference is below.