Father of accused Highland Park shooter takes plea deal, get 60 days in jail
The father of the man accused of killing seven people at the 2022 Highland Park Independence Day parade will serve 60 days in jail after pleading guilty Monday to reckless conduct for helping his son acquire a Firearm Owner's Identification card.
Under the terms of the plea deal, announced just before his trial was to begin, Robert Crimo Jr. also will serve two years of probation, pay court costs, give up his FOID card and all of his weapons. He also will not be allowed to help anyone else obtain a FOID card.
Crimo Jr., 59, of Highwood, could have been sentenced to three years in prison had a judge found him guilty at trial of the seven felony reckless conduct charges — one for each person killed in the July 4, 2022 mass shooting — alleging he helped his then-underage son obtain a FOID card in 2019. Under the plea agreement, the charges were reduced to misdemeanors.
Lake County State's Attorney Eric Rinehart later said the plea puts an end to an era in which parents aren't held accountable for the actions of their children.
“Today, the legal system has found Robert Crimo Jr. bears responsibility for endangering so many, and he himself has agreed that this was a crime,” he added.
Rinehart began his remarks by listing the names of the seven people killed during the Highland Park mass shooting.
“Their families should be focusing on the upcoming holidays without the unbearable weight of the absence of their loved ones,” he said. “Instead, Robert Crimo Jr. made the reckless and dangerous decision to sponsor his son's FOID application.”
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.
George Gomez, Robert Crimo Jr.'s attorney, read a statement on behalf of his client to reporters after the hearing. Gomez said that had his client's case gone to trial, potential key evidence would be disclosed to the public, jeopardizing Crimo Jr.'s son's right to a fair trial.
“Additionally, it appeared that as we got closer to trial that the state's strategy required getting Mr. Crimo's family against each other,” Gomez said.
During pretrial hearings last week, Rinehart said he intended to call Crimo III's younger brother to testify. Rinehart said the younger brother would testify that he heard the accused shooter make violent, homicidal and suicidal statements.
Rinehart said the younger brother told his therapist about the statements, which prompted the therapist to ask police to visit the Crimo home for a well-being check.
Lake County Judge George Strickland ordered Crimo Jr. to return to court on Nov. 15 to surrender and begin serving his jail sentence.