Father of Highland Park shooting suspect wants charges he helped son obtain gun dismissed
A Lake County judge is set to rule later this month on whether to 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.
Robert Crimo Jr. faces seven counts of reckless conduct — one for each person killed in the shooting — alleging he helped his then 19-year-old son obtain a firearm owners identification card in 2019, despite the teen's troubled past.
Authorities say the FOID card 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.
The defense for Crimo Jr. is asking Lake County Judge George Strickland to throw out the case against him, arguing in court Monday that the reckless conduct statute used to charge him is unconstitutionally overbroad and vague. The law defines reckless conduct as when a person's actions cause bodily harm or permanent disability or disfigurement to another person.
Defense attorney George Gomez said because the statute does not mention death, it should not be applied to his client.
“Would not death be, at a minimum, a permanent disfigurement?” Strickland asked Gomez.
Gomez conceded the point but argued that it came down to the intention of the legislators who wrote the statute.
Strickland is scheduled to rule on the defense motions Aug. 28. If he denies them, the case is scheduled to go to bench trial beginning Nov. 6.
If found guilty, Crimo Jr. could face a maximum of three years in prison, though probation also is possible.
Crimo Jr.'s 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.