Joliet Man Slain At Taco Bell In Crest Hill

JOLIET, IL — A 21-year-old Joliet man was fatally shot Friday night at the Taco Bell in the 1800 block of Plainfield Road in Crest Hill and his slaying is being investigated as a homicide.

The Will County Coroner's Office announced that William Spruell died from his gunshot wound at the AMITA Health Saint Joseph Medical Center in Joliet.

Crest Hill Police Chief Ed Clark told Joliet Patch on Saturday that officers responded to the Taco Bell for a call involving of multiple gunshots around 5:20 p.m.

However, the shooting victim, Spruell, was already gone by the time police cars arrived. Someone drove the shooting victim to the hospital where Spruell was pronounced dead.

"He was not taken by ambulance," Clark told Patch.

Since Friday night, Clark said that investigators have been working to obtain video surveillance footage from area businesses along the busy corridor of Plainfield Road, which is Route 30. The chief said that several witnesses from the Taco Bell restaurant have also been interviewed.

Clark said he did not believe any the bullets went inside the Taco Bell restaurant. Spruell was in the parking lot at the time he was shot.

Clark urged people who may have information to help solve the homicide to call the Crest Hill Police Department at 815-741-5111 and ask for lead investigator, Joel Steen.

"They're making some developments," Clark said. "And I'm encouraged with the direction of the case."

Crest Hill police are working with the Will-Grundy County Major Crimes Task Force in trying t solve Friday night's shooting. An autopsy was scheduled for Saturday.

Last June, Joliet police officers arrested Spruell, who lived in the 1300 block of Fitzer Drive, on felony charges including aggravated unlawful use of a weapon in a vehicle, possession of a gun with a defaced serial number, having a gun with no valid FOID and aggravated unlawful use a weapon. The day after his arrest, Spruell posted 10 percent of his $25,000 bail and he has remained free while awaiting his trial.

Court records show that Spruell's 2019 felony gun charges were set for a late May pretrial hearing before Will County Judge Daniel Rippy.

The city of Joliet also had an overnight homicide on the city's east side. The homicide victim in Joliet's shooting lived in Aurora.

Crest Hill's chief said he was not aware of any factors linking Friday night's shooting at the Taco Bell on Plainfield Road and the death of the Aurora man around 5:20 a.m. Saturday in Joliet.

Patch will update this article as more details are known.