Crime & Law
Man Charged in Highland Park Parade Mass Shooting Warned Trial Can Proceed in His Absence as He Skips Second Hearing
Robert E. Crimo III, left, talks to Lake County's assistant public defender Anton Trizna as he appears before Judge Victoria A. Rossetti at the Lake County Courthouse in Waukegan, Ill., Wednesday, June 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh, Pool)
After again failing to appear in court, the alleged Highland Park Fourth of July parade gunman was admonished Wednesday that his upcoming murder trial will proceed whether he chooses to be present or not.
Robert Crimo III, who remains in custody at the Lake County Jail, once again refused to attend a status hearing in his case Wednesday, months before he is set to stand trial on seven counts of first-degree murder and dozens of other charges.
Crimo had also skipped a previous hearing.
Acknowledging his absence, Judge Victoria Rossetti ordered his defense attorneys to instruct Crimo that proceedings will continue even if he refuses to attend, and that if he doesn’t show for his February 2025 trial, he will not be able to confront any witnesses testifying against him.
Crimo was indicted days after the July 2022 mass shooting on 117 charges, including 21 counts of first-degree murder.
He allegedly fired more than 80 rounds from a Smith & Wesson M&P 15 semi-automatic rifle during the Fourth of July parade attack and disguised himself in women’s clothing in order to blend into the crowd as he made his escape.
More than 50 were shot, including seven people — 64-year-old Katherine Goldstein; 35-year-old Irina McCarthy and her 37-year-old husband Kevin McCarthy; 63-year-old Jacquelyn Sundheim; 88-year-old Stephen Straus; 78-year-old Nicolas Toledo-Zaragoza; and 69-year-old Eduardo Uvaldo — who were killed in the shooting.
Crimo was expected to plead guilty to the murder charges in June and would have been sentenced to life in prison, but he backed out of a plea agreement when it came time to admit his guilt in court.
Few issues were discussed at Wednesday’s brief hearing. Rossetti set a hearing date in November to go over several pretrial motions filed by prosecutors and Crimo’s defense team.
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