55 years for murdering off-duty Chicago cop during armed robbery

A Chicago Man Sentenced to 55 Years for Murder of Officer Aréanah Preston

A Chicago man has been sentenced to 55 years in prison for the murder of Chicago Police Officer Aréanah Preston, who was shot and killed during a robbery as she returned home from her shift in 2023, Cook County prosecutors announced Thursday.

Judge Adrienne Davis handed down the sentence after Joseph Brooks pleaded guilty to the slaying: 35 years for murder plus a 20-year gun enhancement. By law, Brooks must serve every day of that sentence.

Joseph Brooks pleaded guilty to first-degree murder before Cook County Judge Adrienne Davis. He is one of four men charged in the May 6, 2023, killing of Preston, 24, which prosecutors say occurred during an armed robbery spree that stretched for hours across Chicago’s South Side. Brooks admitted to shooting Preston as she reached for her weapon during the robbery, prosecutors have said.

The night of May 6, 2023, began when accomplice Jakwon Buchanan was contacted by his girlfriend because she wanted money for a barbecue, officials said. Buchanan, Brooks, and two other men then allegedly drove around looking for people to rob, all carrying guns, dressed in black, and wearing face coverings that left only their eyes exposed.

Prosecutors say the group robbed a woman at gunpoint in the 900 block of East 46th Street, taking a Louis Vuitton belt, credit cards, identification, and her phone after forcing her to unlock it. They then stole a red Kia Forte, which they used for the rest of the night. With that vehicle, prosecutors allege they robbed a 62-year-old woman and her companion in the 10000 block of South Wallace, pushing them to the ground and taking a purse and phone, and then robbed another man in the 9100 block of South Merrill.

Around 1:42 a.m., Preston pulled up to her home in the Avalon Park neighborhood after working a shift at a Far South Side Chicago police district. Surveillance video showed the Kia passing her parked car and then circling back. As Preston stood near the sidewalk in front of her home, three men ran toward her from the vehicle. Prosecutors said muzzle flashes could be seen on the video, some from near Preston and others from near the men.

Preston was struck by two bullets, one to her face and one to her neck, and died at the scene. One of the men ran back to steal her service weapon. Jaylen Frazier, one of the co-defendants, allegedly told his mother the group sold the officer’s gun.

A ShotSpotter detected nine gunshots, but prosecutors say the first officer did not arrive for more than 30 minutes, only after 911 dispatchers received an alert from Preston’s Apple Watch, which had registered a possible traffic crash, which was likely the impact of her falling to the ground. Investigators later recovered eleven shell casings from the scene. DNA testing of the casings produced three profiles that prosecutors said were consistent with Preston, Buchanan, and co-defendant Travell Breeland.

The group abandoned the Kia in the 7100 block of South Eberhardt and some of them allegedly returned to burn it with lighter fluid. While police investigated the fire, they spotted a car parked illegally with no license plates nearby — the same vehicle they initially used that night. Inside, investigators found the first robbery victim’s identification and credit cards, prosecutors said.

The day after the shooting, Frazier allegedly called a friend and described Preston’s murder as “his work,” according to prosecutors. The friend took the information to the police and, working with investigators, called Frazier back on speakerphone while detectives listened. Frazier allegedly confirmed his involvement again and provided details that had not been released publicly.

Two days after the murder, Buchanan called an ex-girlfriend and asked to stay with her because he needed to “lay low,” prosecutors said. She went to pick him up at Breeland’s home in the 7600 block of South Bishop, but law enforcement had the house under surveillance. Officers pulled the Uber over moments after Buchanan got in. He was still wearing the Louis Vuitton belt taken from the first robbery victim, according to prosecutors.

When he got out of the car, Buchanan told officers he had a gun. The weapon, tucked into his waistband, was equipped with a loaded extended magazine and a switch allowing it to fire automatically, prosecutors said. An unloaded gun was found in the back seat of the Uber, and investigators determined it was the weapon that ejected nine of the shell casings found at Preston’s murder scene. Fingerprints from Brooks, Breeland, and Buchanan were found on it, prosecutors alleged.

Brooks had an extensive juvenile record, including adjudications for aggravated vehicular hijacking in 2022, armed robbery in 2021 and 2019, theft in 2020 and 2019, and three additional robberies in 2019, prosecutors said. A law enforcement source described Brooks and Buchanan as being among the top ten most prolific juvenile carjackers in Chicago in 2021 through 2023.

Buchanan had a juvenile adjudication for robbery in 2019 and for criminal trespass to vehicles in 2019, 2021, and 2022, prosecutors said, and was the eighth person accused of killing or attempting to kill someone in Chicago in 2023 while awaiting trial on a felony. Frazier was on juvenile probation for armed robbery at the time of the killing. Breeland was on adult probation for unlawful use of a weapon.

“Officer Aréanah Preston’s life was tragically cut short by an extreme and senseless act of violence, the very kind she dedicated her career to combating,” Cook County State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke said in a statement on Thursday. “We will always feel the loss of this remarkable young woman.”

Cases against co-defendants Breeland, Buchanan, and Frazier remain pending.