‘Preston’s Law’ targeting group attacks now in Gov. Hobbs’ hands
PHOENIX (AZFamily) — House Bill 2611, better known as “Preston’s Law,” now rests on the desk of Gov. Katie Hobbs, awaiting her signature.
The new legislation would create harsher penalties for aggressors in lopsided assaults after the beating death of East Valley teen Preston Lord in 2023.
Lord was brutally assaulted outside a Halloween party in Queen Creek more than a year ago, in an attack that sent shockwaves across the East Valley and Arizona. He died two days later from multiple blunt-force injuries stemming from that attack, prosecutors said.
HB 2611 strengthens the penalties for aggravated assault cases to deter group or gang-style attacks defined as “swarming.” For example, enhanced penalties would be added in assault cases involving two or more accomplices. Those actions include increasing the severity of the charge to a class four felony, which carries a longer prison sentence.
Bridget Vega, a friend of the Lord family, advocates for “Preston’s Law,” which she calls a step in the right direction.
“Had this law been in place, it would definitely have changed even some of the cases that went through the juvenile courts,” said Vega.
“Also important is the fact that a class four felony, unlike a class six felony, cannot be returned to a misdemeanor. Those are the issues that we have had with the current law,” Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell explained during a news conference earlier this year.
Last week, the first of seven defendants to cut a deal with prosecutors in the murder of Lord was sentenced. Maricopa County Judge Scott McCoy sentenced 19-year-old William Owen Hines to 12 years in prison for Lord’s death. He was also sentenced to an additional five years, with credit for time served, and probation after pleading guilty to vehicular aggravated assault and two counts of aggravated assault in three other cases not related to Lord’s death.
Hobbs’ office would not comment on whether she plans to sign the bill, but said she would take action within the next five days, as state law requires.
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