As suspects faced a judge for the first time in the shooting death of Chicago Police Officer Aréanah Preston, her mother said she will seek justice on her daughter’s behalf, and that she is praying for those accused in the heinous act.
Dionne Mhoon spoke to reporters outside the courtroom Wednesday after a hearing where the four suspects in the case were denied bail after being charged with first-degree murder.
Preston was shot to death on Saturday, and after several days police were able to take suspects into custody in the case.
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Mhoon told reporters that she was “full of anger, rage, and questions” after her daughter’s death, but says that her own experiences in raising Preston have inspired a feeling of compassion toward the suspects in the case.
“We poured into her, we poured into her education. As I said in that courtroom today, the people I really feel sorry for are those boys,” she said. “I felt sorry for them because nobody poured into them. Nobody told them that they were loved. Nobody told them that they could do anything, like I constantly preached to my daughter.”
She also said that she offered prayers to the families of the suspects in the case.
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“I pray for their family. I really do,” she said.
Mhoon said that her daughter was set to get her master’s degree in coming days, with two of her other children completing their undergraduate studies. The plan had been to hold a large graduation party for all three, but those hopes were dashed after Preston’s death.
“We’re missing someone, and it’s always a hole that won’t be filled,” she said. “The hole in our hearts will never be closed.”
Despite everything that the family has gone through in the days following the tragedy, Mhoon said that her focus is getting justice for her daughter, and she promised her loved ones would persevere.
“I had a beautiful daughter that I know deserves justice. She’s supposed to be in the courtroom, but here I am. I’m in the courtroom for her,” she said. “We’re gonna get through this. God is good. Keep praying for us. My baby is in a better place, and we’re going to get through this.”
Mhoon says she hopes that the suspects in the case will be convicted, and said the family would seek a life sentence for all four defendants.
Jaylen Frazier, 16, is one of four suspects facing charges in the case. According to NBC 5 Investigates, Frazier had an active parole violation arrest warrant. He allegedly admitted to his mother he had participated in a string of robberies with three other suspects in the lead-up to Preston’s death, and that he was present when the shooting took place.
Joseph Brooks, 19, had been previously convicted of vehicular hijacking in 2022, and also had an active parole violation warrant. He allegedly admitted to police that he had participated in a carjacking and they were “looking for people to rob” when they came upon Preston. He also admitted to firing the shots that killed her, saying she had reached for her gun when the robbery took place.
Authorities arrested Brooks and fellow suspect Trevell Breeland after a tense standoff that involved a CPD SWAT team.
Breeland, 19, also faces murder charges in the case, as does 18-year-old Jakwon Buchanan.
All four suspects were charged with felony first-degree murder, felony counts of armed robbery and a litany of other charges in the case. All four are held without bail in the case.
