Man Gets 55 Years for Killing Chicago Officer Aréanah Preston in 2023

Joseph Brooks, 22, will spend the next 55 years in prison after pleading guilty April 2 to the first-degree murder of Chicago police Officer Aréanah Preston, the CPD officer shot and killed during an attempted robbery in the early hours of May 6, 2023. Cook County Judge Adrienne Davis made the weight of that number explicit in open court: "That means you will serve every day of that 55 years. Do you understand that?" For a 22-year-old defendant, the math is stark: Brooks will be 77 before he walks free.

Preston was 24, a three-year veteran assigned to CPD's 5th District in Calumet, and a 2020 Illinois State University criminal justice graduate. She had finished coursework for a master's degree at Loyola University Chicago and was due to receive it May 13, 2023, one week after her death. Her mother, Dionne Mhoon, accepted the degree at commencement in her daughter's place. Preston had also applied to the FBI and had one final interview remaining before starting the academy.

She never made it inside her home. Surveillance video captured a stolen Kia circling the block near 8157 South Blackstone Avenue in Avalon Park just after 1:40 a.m. Three people exited the vehicle and ran toward Preston, who was still in her police uniform. At least two of the four suspects opened fire. Preston was shot at least twice; one suspect grabbed her service weapon before the group fled, burned the vehicle, and barricaded themselves in an apartment. A SWAT standoff ended in their arrest. Prosecutors argued the group had been conducting a robbery spree before targeting Preston and that all four carried juvenile records at the time.

The guilty plea covers one count of first-degree murder and nothing more. Three co-defendants, Trevell Breeland, Jakwon Buchanan, and Jaylen Frazier, remain charged with first-degree murder and related offenses, awaiting trial. Brooks is the first of the four to have his case resolved.

Preston's mother delivered her victim impact statement directly to Brooks. "You're doing 55, I've got it for life," Mhoon told him in court, surrounded by her daughter's colleagues. Cook County State's Attorney Eileen O'Neill Burke said Preston's life "was tragically cut short by an extreme and senseless act of violence, the very kind she dedicated her career to combating."

Why a plea instead of a trial? A guilty plea guarantees the full 55-year sentence with mandatory 100% service, removing all trial variables. It also establishes a conviction record before the remaining three co-defendants go before a jury, which prosecutors will almost certainly leverage. The plea admits guilt; it does not explain, resolve, or close the broader case.

Preston's Loyola degree now hangs posthumously. A foundation and a university endowment continue her legacy. The courtroom chapter for Breeland, Buchanan, and Frazier is still unwritten.