Jury selection underway in trial of accused Highland Park parade shooter
Jury selection commenced Monday for the trial of the 23-year-old Highwood man accused of fatally shooting seven people and injuring dozens of others during Highland Park’s 2022 Independence Day parade.
It began with Lake County Judge Victoria Rossetti admonishing prospective jurors to “keep an open mind, a mind that is free of any misconceptions” and “resist jumping to conclusions” as questioning began shortly before 11 a.m.
Seated next to his attorneys — Lake County Public Defender Greg Ticsay and assistant Lake County public defender Anton Trizna — defendant, Robert E. Crimo III watched as the judge, his attorneys and prosecutors questioned prospective jurors. Clean-shaven with a short haircut, the defendant wore a black suit, white shirt and tie. His tattoos peeked above his collar.
Seven jurors, three women and four men, were selected Monday.
The defendant faces 21 counts of first-degree murder and dozens of other charges related to the July 4, 2022, attack which claimed the lives of Highland Park residents Katherine Goldstein, 64; Stephen Straus, 88; Jacquelyn “Jacki” Sundheim, 63; and Kevin McCarthy, 37, and his wife Irina McCarthy, 35 were killed during the attack, which also claimed the lives of Nicolas Toledo-Zaragoza, 78, of Morelos, Mexico, and Eduardo Uvaldo, 69, of Waukegan.
Authorities allege the suspect perched atop a downtown Highland Park building and fired dozens of shots from a military-style rifle into the crowd gathered for the parade.
The defendant, who has pleaded not guilty, remains incarcerated in the Lake County jail. If convicted of two or more murders, he faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison.
After a lunch break, the defendant did not return from the jail for the afternoon session. No reason was given for his absence. Rossetti has admonished him several times that the trial will continue without him if he chooses to be absent.
Before proceedings began Monday morning, a radio reporter who was part of the media pool was removed from the courtroom after prosecutors named him as a potential witness.
Juror selection continues Tuesday. Opening statements are set for 9 a.m. Monday, March 3.