Prosecutors over the past few years have been slowly, but steadily, expanding the notion of who can be held accountable for a mass shooting.
Highland Park
Robert Crimo III had briefly been set to go to trial this week after he temporarily demanded to represent himself. But after he changed his mind, Judge Victoria Rossetti on Wednesday reset the initial Feb. 24, 2025 trial date.
The February trial date for alleged Highland Park parade gunman Robert Crimo III has been removed, with a new trial date coming either later this year or in early 2025.
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday denied to take up a petition filed by state Rep. Dan Caulkins, R-Decatur, that sought to overturn a ruling on a related case he’d brought before the Illinois Supreme Court.
In a surprise move Monday, Crimo III told the court he wishes to proceed pro se and will act as his own attorney. The 23-year-old also invoked his right to a speedy trial — pushing what had been expected to be a February 2025 trial date up to Feb. 26, 2024.
Robert Crimo Jr. entered a guilty plea to seven misdemeanor counts of reckless conduct last week in Lake County court. Crimo sponsored his underage son’s firearm application three years before the July 2022 attack in Highland Park, even though the teenager had recently threatened violence.
Just as proceedings were set to begin, Lake County State’s Attorney Eric Rinehart announced that Robert Crimo Jr. had agreed to plead guilty to seven Class A misdemeanor counts of reckless conduct, rather than the seven felony charges he had faced.
The bench trial of Robert Crimo Jr. is set to begin Monday in Lake County, more than 16 months after his son — Robert Crimo III — allegedly killed seven people and wounded dozens more during the Highland Park Fourth of July parade.
Attorneys for Robert Crimo Jr., who is set to go to trial next week on seven counts of reckless conduct, had sought to call his son — alleged parade shooter Robert Crimo III — to testify in his defense.
During a brief case management hearing Monday morning, Judge Victoria Rossetti said she intends to set a trial date for Robert Crimo III when he next appears in court Dec. 11.
Judge George Strickland on Monday denied multiple motions filed on behalf of Robert Crimo Jr., including one that sought to have his criminal charges tossed out based on a violation of the state’s statute of limitations.
The judge said at the hearing in Waukegan, north of Highland Park where the shooting occurred, that he would issue a ruling at the next hearing, on Aug. 28.
Judge George Strickland set a Nov. 6 trial date for Robert Crimo Jr. during a hearing Friday. Crimo Jr. faces seven counts of reckless conduct for allegedly helping his son, Robert Crimo III, obtain a firearm owner’s identification card (FOID) card.
This July 4 in Highland Park, one year after seven people were killed and dozens more wounded in a mass shooting, the sounds of marching bands and cheers were replaced by a much more solemn gathering.
Since the mass shooting at last year’s Fourth of July parade in Highland Park, Illinois has moved swiftly on gun control measures. The most controversial has been the ban on so-called assault weapons.
Highland Park Mayor Nancy Rotering was marching in last year’s Fourth of July parade when gun shots began to ring out. In the year since, she has seen the town come together in its time of need.