Gunshots Terrorized Crest Hill, Family's Son Jailed By Joliet PD

JOLIET — Will County's longest serving judge, Amy Bertani-Tomczak, informed 19-year-old Alex "AJ" Williamson of Crest Hill that he will remain in the Will County Jail indefinitely under the SAFE-T-Act. On Wednesday, prosecutors made their case that Williamson tried to end the life of a random 57-year-old Joliet man in December, and said he is also connected to a shooting inside his family's Crest Hill subdivision in February, court files show.

The quiet Crest Hill subdivision was terrorized after a hail of gunfire took place around supper time Feb. 10 on Palm Drive. In Williamson's backyard, 10 spent 9mm cartridges were recovered by Crest Hill police, court documents outline. Williamson was taken to the Will County Jail by Joliet police on Feb. 26, and he's charged with attempted murder, armed robbery, aggravated discharge of a gun and aggravated unlawful use of a weapon.

According to the prosecution's successful petition to deny Williamson's pretrial release, on Dec. 8, a 57-year-old Joliet man was in the 100 block of Iowa Avenue to look at a vacant property up for sale. The man went to the house alone and parked in the driveway. Then, Williamson walked up to him and asked about possibly renting the house. The victim, who had a key to the property, agreed to let Williamson enter the home.

Afterward, Williamson told the middle-aged man that he wanted $50 for helping him out, court records claim. The victim refused to give Williamson $50, but offered him $10 instead. Moments later, Williamson pulled out his loaded handgun and pointed it at the 57-year-old and told him he was going to shoot unless the man gave him the money, court files allege.

The victim ran out of the house and as he started his car and began to drive away, Williamson fired his gun at the man several times, prosecutors noted. The 57-year-old man was not hit by the bullets, but his front windshield sustained gunshot damage, as did other parts of his vehicle, and one of his tires was deflated.

Joliet police recovered at least four spent cartridges from the east side shooting scene.

Although the random crime remained unsolved for two months, Joliet police later linked the shooting back to Williamson as a result of the subsequent subdivision shooting in Crest Hill at 6:04 p.m. on Feb. 10.

From that crime, 10 gunshot cartridges were recovered from Williamson's backyard, court documents show.

Details Of Palm Drive Shooting Revealed By Prosecutors

When Crest Hill officers responded to the Palm Drive shots fired call on Feb. 10, police obtained video footage from a neighbor that showed muzzle flashes coming from the backyard of the Williamson family's house in the 16000 block of Palm Drive, and Williamson "got uncooperative and refused to provide any information," court files claim.

Williamson's mother told Crest Hill police that she, her husband and her son moved to Palm Drive from Bolingbrook in October. The mother indicated there were no guns inside their house and that her teenage son has never had a gun.

Meanwhile, Crest Hill police saw a bullet hole in the fence of the Williamson property and Alex Williamson Jr. refused to allow the police to process his yard for evidence, court files show. Crest Hill police obtained a search warrant and the next day, Feb. 11, Crest Hill police recovered several spent casings on top of the storage cabinet and several more on the ground in front of the storage cabinet, 10 spent casings, all from a 9mm gun.

Police confiscated a Glock magazine from the kitchen drawer, and it had 15 rounds of 9mm ammunition. The defendant's parents told the police that their son was out with his girlfriend around the time of their subdivision's shooting even though officers told the parents "there was video of someone shooting in his backyard and over the fence and that person went into the house through the back door," prosecutors noted.

Court documents note that a projectile entered a nearby home and struck the drywall in the living room of a neighbor's house.

Will County's prosecutors informed the judge that video obtained from neighbors showed a light colored sedan driving north on Palm Drive and when the car turned onto Arborvitae Circle, muzzle flashes are seen in the backyard of the Williamson's home, which was also where the spent shell casings were recovered, just above the 6-foot fence, with gunshots appearing to be directed at the sedan.

Also, a gun was recovered by police in an area behind the Williamson home, a 9mm handgun; meanwhile, Joliet police's December shooting victim viewed a photo lineup of six people, and he identified Williamson as the person who tried to shoot him on Iowa Avenue, court records note.