Joliet's Murder Trial Underway For Nathan Hill, It's His Second

JOLIET, IL — For the second time in his life, Nathan Hill is on trial at the Will County Courthouse facing first-degree murder charges. When he stood trial for a 2000 homicide in Joliet, the jury hearing the evidence came back with not-guilty verdicts.

This week, in Courtroom 402 of Will County Judge Dan Rippy, a jury is hearing evidence presented in connection with the June 12, 2020, Richards Street homicide of 32-year-old Derrick Williams-Scott of Joliet.

Joliet police detectives took Hill into custody in less than 24 hours after the killing happened, two summers ago. Williams-Scott suffered multiple gunshot wounds as he was standing on the front steps of a house around midnight, on June 12, 2020.

Bail was set at $5 million for Hill, a Crest Hill resident who was residing in the 1500 block of the Pioneer Road apartment units, jail records show. Now, Hill is 43 years old.

In 2020, Joliet Patch reported that Hill was in jail for two months between late November 2018 and late January 2019 after being arrested by the Joliet Metro Narcotics Squad on charges of manufacturing and distributing a look-a-like substance, two counts of resisting the arrest and a parole violation from the Illinois Department of Corrections.

This week, in Courtroom 402, Hill is being defended by private counsel, David Drwencke, a Chicago-based criminal defense lawyer who runs the firm DRD Law.

In recent years, Drwencke has added a number of Will County first-degree murder defendant as new clients, defendants including Hill who were previously being represented by the Will County Public Defender's Office as they were awaiting trial.

As for Hill's murder trial, the Will County State's Attorney's Office is being represented by assistant state's attorneys Adam Capelli, Jim Long and Mark Shlifka.