Crest Hill's Taco Bell Murder: Killer Sentenced

JOLIET, IL — Just three weeks before the start of his first-degree murder trial, Plainfield area resident Dwight Watkins reached a plea agreement and got sentenced to 16 years of imprisonment in connection with the Crest Hill homicide in the Taco Bell restaurant parking lot.

The deadly shooting of 21-year-old Joliet resident William "Will" Spruell took place on Plainfield Road while the Taco Bell restaurant was open and several people were in the parking lot on April 24, 2020.

"Will attended and graduated from Joliet West High School, where his photo is still on display in their Champions Hall for wrestling," his obituary noted. "At the time of his death, he was currently enrolled in college for his Business Management Degree."

Crest Hill Police Chief Ed Clark previously told Joliet Patch that Watkins went to the Taco Bell to meet up with Spruell as part of a drug deal in the restaurant parking lot.

The chief said the two young men got into an altercation, and that led to Watkins pulling out a gun and fatally shooting Spruell in the parking lot around 5:20 p.m.

On Wednesday morning, the plea and sentencing took place in the Will County Courtroom of Judge Carmen Goodman. Now 25 years old, Watkins had his first-degree murder charges dropped as he pleaded guilty to the reduced offense of second-degree murder.

Nearly a dozen members of the Joliet homicide victim's family were in the courtroom, and the victim's mother addressed the judge.

Watkins was represented by two different private law firms, attorney Jeff Tomczak of The Tomczak Law Group and Steven Haney of the Steven Haney Law Offices.

After the sentencing, Tomczak told Patch his client probably still needs to serve another five years of incarceration at the Illinois Department of Corrections.

Watkins gets credit for time already served: he has remained in custody at the Will County Jail since Aug. 25. 2020. He will serve the 16-year prison term at 50 percent, according to Tomczak.

"I think this is a fair agreement for the client," Tomczak said.

He and Haney believed the Will County State's Attorney's Office offered the plea bargain and lowered the murder charge because they realized a jury would never have convicted Watkins of first-degree murder.

On the other hand, their client may have been found guilty of second-degree murder if the case went to trial "based on the specific facts of a drug deal gone wrong," Tomczak said. "One shot was fired and Mr. Spruell was taken to the hospital where he passed away."

Watkins then sped off before the police and ambulance units arrived at the Taco Bell. He was arrested four months later.

At the time of his arrest, Watkins lived in the Plainfield area, on Sierra Highlands Court in Joliet. His bail has remained at $2.5 million.

Joliet Patch asked Tomczak if Watkins' family will continue to support him in spite of his prison sentence to the Illinois Department of Corrections.

"I know his mom is hoping he will turn his life around," Tomczak said. "His mom will continue to support him."