A convicted felon is charged with chasing down and shooting at a female employee who arrived for her shift at a Dunkin’ Donuts in Gurnee during a “one-man crime wave,” prosecutors said.
Lake County Assistant State’s Attorney Elizabeth Cannon said a 22-year-old woman was pulling into the parking lot of the Dunkin Donuts, 350 North Hunt Club Road in Gurnee, around 3:50 a.m. on November 15, 2021.
The victim was employed at the Dunkin’ Donuts, which is connected to a gas station, and was set to begin her work day.
She told police she observed a dark gray Jeep Cherokee leave its spot at the gas pumps and begin driving towards her vehicle, Cannon said.
The victim became nervous and decided to leave. She began driving westbound on Washington Street.
The Jeep pursued her vehicle and she saw the vehicle in the right turn lane as they approached the intersection of Washington Street and Almond Road, which is where Woodland Middle School is located, Cannon said.
The woman reported hearing a number of “pop” sounds before the Jeep Cherokee continued driving westbound.
The victim saw that her passenger doors had been shot and she called 911.
Cannon said police observed holes in the victim’s car consistent with bullet holes and the front tire had also been shot.
Police located two 9mm spent shell casings on Washington Street. A projectile was also found in the victim’s vehicle’s passenger door.
Surveillance video captured the events and corroborated the victim’s account of the incident.
The Gurnee Police Department was informed by the Zion Police Department that Kwantrell Williams, 28, of Zion, had been arrested at the TravelLodge in Waukegan.
Two guns, a Smith and Wesson 9mm and a Polymer 9mm, were recovered during the arrest, Cannon said.
The Smith and Wesson was test-fired by the crime lab and police determined that the casings recovered from the shooting were fired from the same Smith and Wesson.
Cannon said the Jeep Cherokee was eventually recovered by police after the shooting and Williams’ DNA profile was confirmed to be located on the steering wheel.
Williams was charged in November 2023 with one count of aggravated discharge of a firearm, a Class 1 felony, and an arrest warrant was issued.
Williams was in the Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC) at the time of the warrant being issued where he was serving prison for numerous offenses in Lake, McHenry and Cook counties.
He was recently released from IDOC and transferred to the Lake County Jail on the warrant.
The Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office filed a petition to detain him pending trial, arguing he has a significant criminal history and poses a danger to the community. Prosecutors also argued he is a willful flight risk with a history of bail jumping.
“In the instant case, Defendant fired a gun multiple times at a young woman in the community who simply showed up to work early one morning. Detention is the only way to mitigate the dangerousness this Defendant presents to the community and to the victim and he should be detained,” Cannon said.
A detention hearing was held earlier this month and William Elward, a special prosecutor through the Illinois Appellate Prosecutor’s Office, said that Williams was on a “one-man crime wave” in January 2021 and into 2022 when he was finally arrested.
Lake and McHenry County Scanner previously reported that Williams and his half-brother were arrested in April 2022 in connection with a “massive spree” of over 60 burglaries in Illinois and Wisconsin.
Lake County Judge Michael Nerheim granted the petition to detain and Williams remains held in the Lake County Jail.
He is scheduled to appear in court again on October 7 for a case management conference.