CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) - The Chicago Police Department have announced charges in last weekend’s murder of Officer Aréanah Preston.
Interim Police Superintendent Eric Carter revealed that four people, three adults, one juvenile, have been charged in the murder of the 24-year-old Preston. Nineteen-year-old Trevell Breeland, 19-year-old Joseph Brooks, 18-year-old Jakwon Buchanan, and a 16-year-old boy all face first-degree murder charges along with other felonies, such as armed robbery, arson, burglary, possession of a stolen motor vehicle, and unlawful use of a weapon. The boy will be charged as an adult.
According to Carter, the four suspects were on a robbery spree overnight Saturday and were alleged earlier that morning to have stolen a car. The suspects approached Preston at 81st and Blackstone, while she was on her way home from active duty. Carter said the suspects exited out of a stolen vehicle, ran towards Preston, and began shooting at her. Preston fired back, but the suspects continued attacking her with gunfire. One of the suspects stole Preston’s weapon, Carter confirmed, before he and the rest of the crew fled the scene in the stolen car.
An officer from the 4th Police District discovered a wounded Preston after being requested to respond to a 9-1-1 call of a traffic crash. Carter said it was Preston’s Apple watch that triggered the call to dispatchers.
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The responding officer then rushed Preston to University of Chicago Medical Center, but she died.
Authorities said the investigation remains ongoing and would not comment today as to why it took officers reportedly 30 minutes to respond to a ShotSpotter alert that came from the scene.
According to Cook County prosecutors, the teens fled to a vacant lot in the 7200 block of South Eberhart, where private surveillance video captured them walking together north through an alley to the back door of a home, prosecutors said. Video from a distance later showed the car burning.
Later that evening, the teenage suspect allegedly called a friend and discussed the murder.
“(16-year-old suspect) asked if he had seen the news about a police officer being killed …the boy said it was his work,” prosecutors said. The boy “told him they were out robbing people when they saw a single female in her car. They were going to rob her but the female shot at them. One of the guys he was with shot back at the cop and killed her.”
That friend later went to police with what the teenage suspect allegedly said and, during an interview with detectives, called the boy and put him on speakerphone and allowed detectives to listen as they talked.
During the call the teenage suspect made “additional admissions about the robberies and shooting including details that had not been released.”
Prosecutors said Preston was killed at the end of a robbery spree that began when Buchanan was contacted by his girlfriend who told him “she needed money for a barbecue.”
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“While we know this does not ease the pain, we hope that knowing the people responsible for her murder have been caught and brings a small measure to them,” Carter said. “While Aréanah is not physically here with us, her spirit and service of kindness will forever carry on, and we will never forget.”
One of Preston’s supervisors from the Calumet Police District spoke at this morning’s press conference and echoed Carter’s sentiments.
“No one could argue that Aréanah Preston was a star, a rising boss on this job…everyone that came into contact with her was affected by this news, and she will truly be missed,” Calumet District Police Commander Tyrone Pendarvis tearfully said.
Sun-Times Media Wire contributed to this report.
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