Teen acted in self-defense when he killed Belleville 20-year-old, attorney says
A defense attorney tried to persuade a St. Clair County judge to release a Collinsville teenager from jail by arguing that his client acted in self-defense when he shot and killed a restaurant employee outside a strip mall at Belleville Crossing shopping center on Sunday.
Associate Judge Sara Rice wrote in notes on the detention order that the defendant, William A.L. Molton, 18, of Collinsville, had admitted to the shooting but told police he thought the victim, Montavion Conrad, 20, of Belleville, was “about to strike him.”
A witness described a “verbal altercation” between Molton and Conrad and stated that Conrad ran toward Molton before Molton fired his gun, according to Rice’s notes.
“It was a classic case of self-defense,” said Edwardsville attorney Robert Bas, who is representing Molton, on Friday.
“My client reasonably thought he was being attacked. There are witnesses who saw the alleged victim breaking free from being restrained by two people and running toward my client. My client gave him a warning not to approach, and Monte nevertheless ran up to him (and he) was swinging at my client right before the gunshot.”
Despite defense arguments, Rice ordered that Molton remain in the St. Clair County Jail while prosecutors seek a grand jury indictment.
“Defendant’s detention is necessary to avoid the real and present threat/danger to any person or persons or the Community,” according to a statement with a box that Rice checked on the order.
Belleville police reported earlier this week that Molton and Conrad knew each other and coincidentally ended up in the parking lot of an outlying strip mall at Belleville Crossing.
Molton, a student at Menta Academy in Belleville, was picking up an order at Wingstop with his girlfriend, a juvenile who is not being named by authorities. Conrad worked at Qdoba Mexican Eats next door.
”Interpersonal drama and the opportunity to settle an old score led to tragedy and a young life lost,” Acting Police Chief Mark Heffernan stated in a news release on Monday.
The following day, the St. Clair County state’s attorney’s office charged Molton with first-degree murder and unlawful possession of a firearm by someone under 21.
Molton’s detention hearing was held Thursday afternoon. Assistant State’s Attorney Jason Emmanuel had petitioned the court for his pre-trial detention, arguing that he presented a threat to the community.
At the hearing, Bas told Judge Rice that Conrad initiated the altercation on Sunday, taking his shirt off for a fight, apparently because of hard feelings from the past.
“Two years ago, (Conrad) threatened to harm my client because my client was dating an ex-girlfriend of his,” Bas said Friday.
Also at the hearing, Molton’s mother testified about her son’s educational status, individualized education program (IEP) classification, history of family trauma and mental health treatment. Bas said his father was murdered when he was very young.
Molton has a pending juvenile case involving a charge of armed violence in Madison County, and he was on electronic monitoring until Dec. 16, 2025, according to Rice’s notes.
Belleville Crossing is near the intersection of Illinois 15 and Frank Scott Parkway. The strip mall with Qdoba and Wingstop also includes West Belleville Nail Spa and an AT&T store.
Police were dispatched to the strip mall at 3:49 p.m. Sunday. They rendered aid and secured the scene, then began their investigation and went looking for the suspect, according to news releases.
Preliminary investigation found that:
- The suspect and a female juvenile, both from Collinsville, thought they placed a Wingstop order to the restaurant’s Collinsville location.
- They learned the order had gone to the Belleville Crossing location, so they traveled there to pick it up.
- When they arrived, the suspect recognized the victim, a Qdoba employee, from “previous encounters from past relationship issues.”
- The two men exchanged words, and the victim proceeded toward the suspect as if a fight was about to occur.
- The suspect produced a handgun and shot the victim.
- Officers gathered suspect information to include a vehicle description.
- Responding Belleville patrol officers located the vehicle and pursued it with help from assisting agencies.
- The suspect’s vehicle crashed in the 6600 block of Old St. Louis Road, and the suspect and female juvenile fled.
- Belleville police conducted a manhunt in a wooded area near the crash, assisted by several agencies, using drones and K-9 support.
“The suspect and juvenile female were located less than one hour after the shooting occurred and arrested,” Heffernan stated in one of the news releases. “The suspect remains in custody (and) the juvenile has been released to her parents.”
Conrad’s uncle described him as a smart, funny, loyal and passionate young man who liked basketball, gaming, fashion and girls. He attended Belleville West High School and graduated from Collinsville High School in 2024. Before Qdoba, he worked at Walmart in Collinsville and White Castle in Belleville.
