Preston Lord defendant Taylor Sherman posts bail and is out of jail

A teenager charged in connection with the fatal gang attack on Preston Lord was released from custody a day after a judge lowered his $1 million bail.

The Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office confirmed Wednesday that Taylor Sherman, 19, posted bail. He was on electronic monitoring, according to the sheriff’s office.

A Maricopa County Superior Court judge lowered Sherman’s bail to $250,000 Tuesday after his lawyer argued the initial bail was excessive because his client did not participate in the Oct. 28 attack on Lord, 16, at a Halloween party in Queen Creek. Judge Bruce Cohen said if Sherman posts bail, he will be placed under home detention.

Sherman is one of seven people charged with first-degree murder and kidnapping in Lord’s death. He has been in custody since March 6.

“He did not participate in the beating of Mr. Lord,” Sherman’s attorney, Joseph Tobler, said at Tuesday’s hearing. “There is no physical evidence that he participated in that beating because he did not participate in that beating.”

Tobler also argued that Sherman had no criminal history, did not pose a significant threat to the community and was not associated with the Gilbert Goons gang.

A December investigation by The Arizona Republic revealed how Lord’s death was connected to the Goons, a gang of teens who recorded their brutal attacks and shared many of them online.

Prosecutors disputed Tobler’s claims and opposed lowering his bail, saying Sherman admitted to participating in the attack. But Tobler said what they were referring to — text messages in which people talked about two different attacks at the same time — was a misinterpretation that Sherman explained away.

Additional evidence was presented to the jury, prosecutors said, enough to charge Sherman and the other six people with murder and kidnapping. They did not specify in court what that evidence was.

Additionally, in court documents opposing Sherman’s release from custody, prosecutors said there was evidence Sherman participated in the beating, based on Ring surveillance footage and witness interviews.

Sherman, according to police, recorded video of rescuers pulling Lord’s body from the street. “He fell over, f…ing haha,” he said, according to a Queen Creek police investigation.

When Cohen ordered the bail reduction Tuesday, he also ordered Sherman not to use or communicate on social media, and not to communicate with anyone connected to the case. That included people who were defendants in other assault cases.

After Tuesday’s hearing, Tobler told The Republic that he and Sherman’s family were pleased with the lowered bail.

“I think the judge … today saw the problems in the case against Mr. Sherman and lowered bail accordingly,” he said.

During Wednesday’s hearing, Cohen stressed that he had not issued a ruling on the merits of the case.

“This court has not formed, and does not intend to form, any opinion or conclusion as to the merits of this or any other case,” he said in the minutes.

Cohen also said the court would not do so “unless a substantial issue requiring such a decision is properly presented to the court, actual evidence is presented, and the due process rights of all parties are respected.”

Another defendant in Lord’s case, Talyn Vigil, 18, is free on bail. Unlike Sherman, his bail has not been reduced.

All other defendants remained in custody.

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Elena Santa Cruz is a justice reporter at The Republic. Contact her at [email protected]. Follow her on X @ecsantacruz3.

Robert Anglen is an investigative reporter for The Republic. Contact him at [email protected]. Follow him on X @robertanglen.