Trial begins for Joliet man charged with 2019 slaying

Woman wounded in shooting; defendant claims self defense

The trial of Matthew Rutledge, 41, began on Tuesday, May 16, 2023, at the Will County Courthouse in Joliet. Rutledge is charged with the 2019 first-degree murder of Quentin Woods, 38, and the attempted murder of Woods' sister, Tiffany Williams, 38.

A Joliet man charged in 2019 with the fatal shooting of another man and wounding a woman, will try to persuade a Will County judge that he was acting in self defense of himself, his wife and his home.

The bench trial for Matthew Rutledge, 41, of Joliet began Tuesday with both parties delivering opening statements. However, the case continued to Wednesday before any state witnesses could testify because there a problem arose regarding a detective’s documentation of the statements for one those witnesses.

Rutledge waived his right to a jury and chose to have Judge Carmen Goodman decide whether he is guilty of the first-degree murder of Quentin Woods, 38, and the attempted murder of Woods’ sister, Tiffany Williams, 38. Rutledge also faces a charge of aggravated battery.

Both Woods and Williams were shot in broad daylight on Dec. 20, 2019, on a sidewalk on Sherwood Place, about a block from the Cathedral of St. Raymond in Joliet. Rutledge resided in the 800 block of Sherwood Place before his arrest.

Police and investigators secure the scene of a shooting Friday, Dec. 20, 2019, as a shooting victim lays on the sidewalk along Sherwood Place in Joliet, Ill. One male was killed and a female was transported to an area hospital with an injury.

On Tuesday morning, Will County Assistant State’s Attorney Erin Krone said in her opening statement that the shooting occurred about 2 p.m. that day.

Krone said Rutledge had shot Woods multiple times, shot Williams once, concealed the firearm he used in the crime, changed his clothes and then shaved his beard off.

“All told, there were nine shots fired into Quentin’s body,” Krone said.

Krone said Williams and Rutledge, who is married to another woman, were in a sexual relationship and he had given Williams a ride to a bank. She withdrew money from the bank – money which later went missing, she said.

At some point, Woods and Williams confronted Rutledge about the money, Krone said. During that confrontation, Rutledge, who was wearing black gloves, pulled out a gun and shot Woods and Williams as they tried to flee from him, she said.

“He continued to shoot [Woods] as he was on the ground,” Krone said.

Woods’ father, Michael Woods, and the rest of his family, were in the courtroom. At one point, Michael Woods cried during Krone’s opening statement and left the courtroom. After Tuesday’s hearing, he declined to comment because the case is ongoing.

Michael Woods (left), father of Quentin Woods, 38, who was shot and killed in 2019, leaves the Will County Courthouse on Tuesday, May 16, 2023, in Joliet. Matthew Rutledge, 41, has been charged with the 2019 first-degree murder of Quentin Woods and the attempted murder of his sister, Tiffany Williams, 38.

Krone said the state’s plan to call witnesses to the incident, along with police investigators who recovered the 9 mm Beretta handgun, shell casings and gloves linked to the crime.

Krone said Rutledge was not justified in the shooting.

Rutledge’s attorney, Chuck Bretz, contended otherwise. He told Goodman that his client’s case is about a person’s right to defend themselves.

Bretz said he was sorry about what happened to Woods but said he was not the victim.

“He was the aggressor,” Bretz said.

a jacket can be seen on the ground as police and investigators secure the scene of a shooting Friday, Dec. 20, 2019, at Sherwood Place in Joliet, Ill. One male was killed and a female was transported to an area hospital with an injury.

Bretz said charges never should have been filed against Rutledge and there was a “rush to judgement.” He said Williams and Woods were high on PCP, along with other drugs, when they showed up to Rutledge’s home with the intent to assault him.

“This was not a situation where they were fleeing from him. In fact, he was being attacked,” Bretz said.

Bretz said Rutledge was acting in defense of himself, his wife and his home. He said he expects Goodman to find his client not guilty of all charges.