Accused Highland Park mass shooter won't testify at father's trial

The man accused of murdering seven spectators at last year's Highland Park Independence Day parade will not testify when his father goes on trial facing charges he helped his son obtain a gun license three years before the mass shooting.

However, a portion of the accused gunman's 7½-hour police interrogation likely will be played during the trial, which is scheduled to begin next week.

Robert Crimo Jr., 59, of Highwood, faces seven charges of reckless conduct - one for each person killed in the July 4, 2022 shooting - alleging he helped his then 19-year-old son obtain a firearm owners identification card in 2019, despite the teen's troubled past.

The FOID card allowed the son to later acquire an AR-15-style rifle, which authorities say he used to fire as many as 70 shots into the parade crowd, killing seven people and wounding dozens more.

Attorneys for Crimo Jr. previously indicated they hoped to call their client's son to the witness stand. However, at a hearing Monday morning, Robert Crimo III's attorneys said he would only assert his Fifth Amendment rights if called to testify.

That being the case, Lake County Judge George Strickland said he sees no reason why the younger Crimo should appear in court.

While he won't be there in person, the court likely will see a portion of the shooting suspect's video-recorded interrogation.

Lake County State's Attorney Eric Rinehart told the judge there is a 35-minute portion near the beginning of the interrogation where the younger Crimo describes how he planned the shooting, carried it out and fled the scene. 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 prosecutors intend to call on the accused shooter's younger brother to testify in his father's trial about his older sibling's mental state. Over the objection of defense lawyers, Strickland said he would allow it.

Strickland also ruled Monday that prosecutors be allowed to call a youth group leader about an encounter he had with Crimo Jr. and his son years ago.

Rinehart said the youth group leader said he spoke to Crimo Jr. after his son had been talking about mass shootings. The witness is expected to testify that Crimo Jr. tried to minimize what his son had said, Rinehart said. A final pretrial hearing is scheduled for Friday morning. The trial is set to begin Monday, Nov. 4.