Crime & Law

Man Pleads Guilty in Murder of CPD Officer Aréanah Preston, Sentenced to 55 Years

One of the four people charged in the killing of Chicago police Officer Aréanah Preston has been sentenced to more than 50 years in prison following the fatal 2023 shooting.

Cook County prosecutors on Thursday announced Joseph Brooks, 22, had pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and was sentenced to 55 years in prison.

Brooks was arrested and charged along with Trevell Breeland, 22, Jakwon Buchanan, 21, and Jaylan Frazier, 19, after they allegedly killed Preston as she returned to her Avalon Park home after finishing her shift in the early morning hours of May 6, 2023.

“We will always feel the loss of this remarkable young woman,” Cook County State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke said in a statement. “I hope this conviction brings a measure of accountability and some comfort to Aréanah’s family, her friends, and her colleagues in the Chicago Police Department. We will continue seeking justice in the co-defendant cases that are pending.”

Prosecutors alleged the four men charged — who were all teens at the time of the shooting — had carried out an hourslong robbery spree before they attempted to rob Preston outside her home.

The group is accused of stealing a Kia earlier that night, which was seen on surveillance video driving past Preston as she walked to her home in the 8100 block of South Blackstone Avenue.

The vehicle then circled around the block and pulled over as three people could be seen exiting and running toward Preston, who was still wearing her police uniform.

After the shooting, the four allegedly burned the vehicle and fled to an apartment, where they were ultimately arrested following a SWAT standoff, prosecutors said.

O’Neill Burke’s office said charges remain pending against Breeland, Buchanan and Frazier.

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