Family Of Joliet Man Who Died During Police Standoff In Marycrest Subdivision Retains Lawyer Seeking Answers

JOLIET, IL — Multiple family members of Derrick James Smith, the 44-year-old Joliet man who died Monday night after an eight-hour-long police standoff in the Marycrest subdivision, have agreed to retain Chicago civil rights attorney Ian Barney to conduct an independent investigation surrounding the events that happened on Joliet's west side.

A source told Joliet Patch's editor that it was their understanding that the autopsy has yet to take place, and it may happen on Wednesday. Family members had questions surrounding the gunshot wound Smith suffered, according to the source.

Barney has been involved in several high-profile federal lawsuits against the Joliet Police Department, the Will County Sheriff's Office and the Will-Grundy Major Crimes Task Force in recent years. In 2025, Barney obtained a $2.75 million out of court settlement in his lawsuit against Will County Sheriff's sniper Lt. John Allen — who was subsequently fired — after killing a 65-year-old Crest Hill man who was surrendering peacefully during a bank standoff in Romeoville that involved a mental health breakdown by the man.

Then, in late December, Barney filed a federal lawsuit against three Joliet Police Department officers surrounding the 2024 Christmas morning death of 39-year-old Joliet resident David Malito. He ran to the Shell gas station on Larkin Avenue in a bewildered state of mind. He dialed 911, Joliet police responded to the gas station, the officers restrained Malito and he died soon after.

On Tuesday, Barney furnished Joliet Patch with the following comment in regard to being retained as counsel for the family of Derrick Smith.

"Our deepest condolences go out to the family during this incredibly difficult time as they mourn the loss of Derrick," Barney wrote. "We will work with the family to conduct a thorough investigation into the circumstances of Derrick's death to ensure that all facts are brought to light and the family's rights are protected."

Meanwhile, on Tuesday morning, the office of Will County State's Attorney Jim Glasgow notified Will County's judges that all of Smith's pending criminal cases, of which there were at least four, have been dropped because Smith has died.

"Preliminary investigation shows the male suspect got out of his crashed car, holding a handgun and took off running. A Will County Sheriff’s Office K-9 team tracked the suspect two streets over, to the 200 block of Romayne Avenue, where the man barricaded himself inside a home that was not his," the sheriff's office said. "Around 9 p.m., members of the Will County SWAT tactical team breached the home and found the suspect with an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. He was rushed to St. Joseph Medical Center, where he was pronounced deceased. Detectives recovered a handgun on scene inside the home. The Will/Grundy Major Crimes Task Force will now take over the investigation."

On Feb. 26, a Will County grand jury indicted Smith on charges of delivery of a controlled substance, a Class X felony, accusing Smith of three crimes of delivering more than 15 grams but less than 100 grams of cocaine on Aug. 26 and Aug. 14. The third charge accused Smith of delivering fentanyl on Aug. 14. The case resulted from a Joliet Metropolitan Area Narcotics Squad investigation.

On Feb. 19, a grand jury indicted Smith on a charge of delivery of a controlled substance, Class X felony, accusing him of delivering more than 900 grams of cocaine on Oct. 2. That was a Tinley Park Police Department investigation.

On Feb. 26, another grand jury indictment came. That one originated from the Bolingbrook Police Department and accused Smith of delivering 15 to 100 grams of cocaine on Sept. 18. That particular delivery of a controlled substance charge was also a Class X felony.

Smith also faced a misdemeanor count of fleeing or attempting to elude a peace officer. That case originated in Rockdale. It was filed on Dec. 2 and indicated that Smith was driving a Dodge Durango on Meadow Avenue in Rockdale last Aug. 11. According to the indictment, after the Rockdale police car turned on its sirens and flashing lights, Smith willfully failed or refused to stop and "otherwise fled or attempted to elude a peace officer."

On Tuesday, around 1:30 p.m., the Will County Sheriff's Office issued a Facebook update indicating that Monday's eight-hour standoff started after members of the US Marshals Great Lakes Regional Fugitive Task Force, who were joined by the Will County Gang Suppression Unit and the Will County K-9 unit, "attempted a vehicle containment technique on the male suspect, which was unsuccessful, allowing the vehicle to break free and crash into a fence. That occurred in the 200 block of St. Jude Avenue."