PHOENIX — A member of the "Gilbert Goons" charged in the gang murder of Preston Lord was arrested for a third time since he was released from jail with electronic monitoring on a $1 million bond in 2024.
Tempe police arrested Talyn Vigil, 20, and another man on Sept. 17 on misdemeanor reckless driving and exhibition of speed charges.
The arrest happened just before 3 p.m. after officers said they saw the two men racing motorcycles near Arizona State University. Officers said the pair split traffic, performed burnouts while stopped at intersections and drag raced, among other traffic violations.
Both were arrested and taken to Tempe City Jail while their motorcycles were towed and impounded.
Vigil was arrested in 2025 on charges of violating an order of protection and in February for reckless driving on a dirt bike.
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The Maricopa County Attorney's Office said Sept. 18 that prosecutors were aware of his latest arrest.
"Any action we take will be done through the appropriate channels in court," County Attorney's Office spokesperson Erin Pellett told The Arizona Republic.
Vigil so far has managed to remain on house arrest despite prosecutors previously requesting a judge revoke his release conditions following his previous arrests while out of custody.
Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Sam Myers denied the request in April, saying he did not feel Vigil was a threat to the community or that he would fail to appear in court. It was unclear if the latest arrest would cause Myers to reconsider.
Talyn Vigil, left, one of the seven people charged with first-degree murder and kidnapping in the death of Preston Lord, shown in Maricopa County Superior Court in 2024.
Awaiting trial in murder case
Vigil is one of seven members of the teen gang known as the Gilbert Goons, who prosecutors say attacked 16-year-old Preston Lord randomly at a Halloween party in Queen Creek in 2023.
An investigation by The Arizona Republic tied Lord's beating to the Goons, whose attacks on teens went unchecked by police for more than a year. The Goons recorded their blitz-style assaults on teens in parks and parking garages, outside fast-food restaurants and at house parties.
Six members of the gang, including Vigil, have pleaded not guilty. The seventh person, William "Owen" Hines, admitted to playing a part in the beating. Hines was sentenced to 12 years in prison in 2025 as part of a plea deal. Five of those men still awaiting trial are out on bond.
A judge has scheduled the first of multiple trials to start in November, though that could be delayed.
Vigil made incriminating statements the night Lord was attacked, according to an interview and a social media post. His former girlfriend told police that just minutes after the fatal beating, Vigil climbed into a car and bragged: "I knocked that kid out." The girl's mother recounted the moment to The Republic in a 2023 interview.
Vigil also appeared to confess to the beating on Snapchat. A screenshot of the post has circulated widely on social media and was referenced in police investigative records.
"I hit a kid and this kid feel hit his head and then they kicked his head in the ground then i got word he died so idk," the post read.
Vigil in 2025 settled a wrongful death lawsuit with Lord's parents for undisclosed terms.Â
