Judge rejects bid to dismiss charges against father of Highland Park parade shooting suspect
A Lake County judge Monday rejected arguments that he should dismiss criminal charges against the father of the man accused of carrying out the mass shooting at Highland Park's Independence Day parade last year.
The decision means Robert Crimo Jr. remains on track to face trial in November on seven counts of reckless conduct - one count for each person killed in the shooting. The charges allege Crimo Jr. helped his then 19-year-old son obtain a firearm owners identification card in 2019, despite the teen's troubled past.
The trial could include Crimo Jr.'s son on the witness stand, defense attorney George Gomez said.
"There could be many scenarios where Crimo the son could be possibly be a witness in this case," Gomez told reporters outside of court Monday. "He's part of the end result in this case, so he may be able to shed some light on what exactly he knew at that time."
Authorities say the FOID card Crimo Jr. helped his son obtain allowed the teen to purchase a military-style rifle he's alleged to have used to kill seven people and wound dozens more at the Highland Park parade. 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.
"When Mr. Crimo signed the form that allowed his son to get a weapon, he also had intimate knowledge about his son's specific circumstances, a dangerous mix that would have stopped any parent from proceeding," Lake County State's Attorney Eric Rinehart said Monday. "My office also charged Mr. Crimo (the father) because of our moral and law enforcement obligation to prevent future tragedy in Lake County."
Earlier this month, Crimo Jr.'s lawyers asked Lake County Judge George Strickland to throw out the case against him, arguing that the reckless conduct statute used to charge him is unconstitutionally overbroad and vague.
Strickland disagreed, but said Monday that prosecutors would have to prove at trial that Crimo Jr.'s actions were reckless and a proximate cause of the deaths on July 4, 2022.
Crimo Jr. is now scheduled to have a bench trial before Strickland beginning Nov. 6. If found guilty, he could face a maximum of three years in prison, though probation also is possible. A final pretrial hearing is set for Oct. 30.
His son has pleaded not guilty to the 117 criminal charges against him. He's being held without bail in the Lake County jail and is scheduled to appear in court Sept. 11 for a case management conference.