The sentence resolves the first case in the 2023 slaying, while three other defendants still await trial.
CHICAGO, IL — Joseph Brooks was sentenced to 55 years in prison Thursday after pleading guilty to first-degree murder in the 2023 killing of Chicago Police Officer Aréanah Preston, who was shot outside her Avalon Park home after finishing her shift.
The sentence marks the first conviction in a case that drew citywide attention after Preston, 24, was killed during what prosecutors described as a robbery spree on May 6, 2023. Brooks, now 22, admitted guilt in Cook County court as Preston’s family, fellow officers and supporters watched. The case is not over. Three other defendants still face murder and related felony charges, and no trial dates had been set by Thursday.
Preston had just returned home in uniform in the early morning hours when the attack happened in the 8100 block of South Blackstone Avenue. Prosecutors have said the group had spent hours committing robberies and stealing vehicles before they saw Preston near her home and moved in to rob her. Surveillance video, according to prosecutors, showed three men getting out of a car and running toward her. Preston, who was off duty but armed, fired back as shots were exchanged. Brooks later admitted he was one of the shooters, according to prosecutors, who said he told detectives he fired when he saw Preston reach for her weapon. Preston was struck multiple times. Authorities have said one of the attackers returned after she fell and took her gun before fleeing.
The courtroom on Thursday was filled with grief that has not eased in the nearly three years since the shooting. Preston’s mother, Dionne Mhoon, read a victim impact statement as relatives and officers listened. “You’re doing 55, I’ve got it for life,” Mhoon told Brooks. After the hearing, she said no prison term could restore what was taken from her family. Brooks also addressed the court and apologized, saying he had been caught up in “a fast life” and did not mean for Preston to die. Prosecutors said the evidence against him included DNA found on shell casings and cell phone location data that placed his phone at scenes connected to the robbery spree. Brooks pleaded guilty to one count of first-degree murder before the sentence was imposed.
Records and earlier court hearings sketched out a broader chain of events behind the killing. Prosecutors said the group began with an armed robbery around midnight and continued through the South Side, stealing a Dodge Avenger, then taking a red Kia Forte, then robbing more victims before reaching Avalon Park. A CBS Chicago timeline in 2023 reported that the alleged spree included multiple robberies in a roughly two-hour span. At a bond hearing that year, prosecutors said a phone call from the youngest defendant, Jaylen Frazier, helped investigators break open the case. They said he spoke to a friend about the shooting and described details that had not been released publicly. Authorities also said the Kia used in the crimes was later burned. Chicago police recovered nearly a dozen 9 mm shell casings from the scene where Preston was shot.
Preston’s death carried extra weight for many in Chicago because she was at the start of both a police career and a wider public-service path. She was 24 and only days away from receiving a master’s degree from Loyola University Chicago when she was killed. The officer had served about three years on the force. Her killing prompted vigils, funeral processions and renewed scrutiny of violence targeting officers and residents alike on the South Side. The case also drew attention because all four defendants were teenagers at the time of the shooting. Earlier hearings focused on their juvenile records, the handling of statements to police, and disputes over forensic evidence, including whether a firearms expert would be allowed to testify in the remaining cases.
Thursday’s sentence settles only Brooks’ case. The other defendants — Trevell Breeland, 22, Jakwon Buchanan, 21, and Jaylen Frazier, 19 — still face multiple felony counts, including first-degree murder, armed robbery, burglary and possession of a stolen vehicle. Frazier, who was 16 when he was charged, has remained in juvenile detention while the case moves forward. A Cook County judge ruled in January that he would stay there rather than be transferred to the county jail. At that time, the court also heard that hearings were continuing for the other defendants and that no trial dates had yet been set. That means more pretrial litigation is expected before any jury hears the remaining cases. Preston’s mother said Thursday she plans to attend every court appearance connected to her daughter’s killing.
Those who filled the courtroom Thursday brought the case back to its human center. Officers who had worked with Preston stood beside relatives who have returned again and again for hearings that stretched over months and then years. Supporters have worn clothing calling for peace in Preston’s name, and family members have described the process as a test of endurance as much as law. Mhoon said she would keep showing up in all weather because, in her words, she intends to stand in her daughter’s place. The reaction inside court made clear that the guilty plea brought a measure of resolution for one part of the case, but not closure. For Preston’s family and colleagues, the sentence was one milestone in a longer public reckoning over a young officer’s death.
The case now moves to the remaining prosecutions, with additional hearings expected in Cook County court and trial dates still to be determined for the three other defendants.
Author note: Last updated April 3, 2026.