Zion man charged in fatal shooting to remain in Lake County jail

A Lake County judge on Thursday granted prosecutors' petition to detain a Zion man charged with a fatal shooting last summer.

Kendrick Williams, 33, faces first-degree murder charges in the July 24, 2025, death of 30-year-old Joshua Strong. Prosecutors say Strong was shot twice in the chest following an altercation at an Ingleside home.

“A classic case of self-defense,” is how defense attorney Nate Bernard described the case as he argued against detention for Williams, who he said possesses a FOID card and a Concealed Carry License.

According to Bernard, Williams, Strong and Strong's girlfriend were at an Ingleside sports bar before going to a home, where Strong and his girlfriend retired upstairs.

A commotion brought the couple downstairs where “at some point, the victim approached my client and grabbed him by the neck,” Bernard said.

“My client was in a kneeling position in the corner,” he said. “A witness who was there told police he observed the victim attempting to disarm my client with a firearm the victim knew he had.”

He also said several individuals assaulted Williams while he was in a “cowering position.”

Williams subsequently called 911, informed the dispatcher of the shooting, waited for police and cooperated with them, Bernard said, adding that his client has no felony or misdemeanor convictions.

Arguing for detention, Assistant Lake County State’s Attorney Savannah Holcomb described Williams as a heavy, daily drinker who acquaintances say “gets sick when he doesn't drink.”

Witnesses claimed “to have been threatened by the defendant with a firearm” on other occasions, she said.

According to Holcomb, a witness said Williams pointed a gun at her when she tried to stop him from leaving after the shooting.

Acknowledging Bernard's self-defense argument, Judge Michael Nerheim said it's “not disputed the victim in this case was the initial aggressor” and that prosecutors acknowledge Strong had his hand on the defendant’s neck or shoulder and was yelling at him.

He also noted the state’s petition indicates a witness said Strong was being pulled away from the altercation when Williams drew his handgun and shot him.

Nerheim found that Williams poses a real and present threat to the community and ordered him to remain in the county jail while his case is pending.

He is scheduled to return to court for a status hearing on Sept. 24.

bvitello@dailyherald.com