Judge: Accused Highland Park mass shooter's interrogation video won't be played at father's trial
A Lake County judge ruled Friday that video of the interrogation of the accused Highland Park mass shooter will not be played during the trial of his father, set to begin Monday.
Instead, a transcript of what was said between police and Robert Crimo III during the interrogation will be read in court.
Lake County Judge George Strickland said he will seal the tape of the interrogation so members of the media and the public won't be able to view and disseminate the video after the father's trial.
Robert Crimo Jr., 59, of Highwood, faces seven charges of reckless conduct - one for each person killed in the July 4, 2022 mass shooting - alleging he helped his then-19-year-old son obtain a firearm owners identification card in 2019, despite the teen's troubled past.
Initially, Crimo Jr.'s attorneys hoped to call their client's son to the witness stand. But on Monday, the son's attorneys said he would only assert his Fifth Amendment rights if called to testify.
Therefore, Strickland said he sees no reason why the son should appear in court.
On Friday, Gregory Ticsay, one of the accused shooter's attorneys, argued no aspect of the interrogation be part of the Crimo Jr. trial because it would violate their client's right to a fair trial by making it harder to impanel an impartial jury.
Lake County State's Attorney Eric Rinehart said Friday he expects only around 94 minutes of the full interrogation will be read at Monday's trial. Rinehart and Crimo Jr.'s attorney George Gomez are working to agree on what exactly from the interrogation is read aloud to the public next week.
The son, now 22, is charged with 21 counts of first-degree murder, 48 counts of attempted murder and 48 counts of aggravated battery in a separate proceeding. He has pleaded not guilty and is being held without bail in the Lake County jail awaiting a court appearance Dec. 11.
Rinehart said he plans to call 10 witnesses during Monday's trial of the father. Gomez said he intends to call two witnesses.
The accused shooter's younger brother is expected to be among the state's witnesses. When called to the stand, Rinehart said, the younger brother, who is 19 or 20 years old, will testify he heard his older brother make violent, homicidal and suicidal statements.
Rinehart said the younger brother told his therapist what his brother said which prompted the therapist to ask police to visit the Crimo home for a well-being check.
The trial begins at 9:30 a.m. in the Waukegan courthouse.