Robert Crimo III was expected to plead guilty to the July 4th parade shooting on Wednesday, and victims’ families and survivors were ready to provide victim impact statements. Instead, Crimo backed out of the plea. CBS 2’s Marissa Perlman reports (CBS Chicago). YouTube Tips ⓘ
Highland Park 4th of July parade mass shooting suspect Robert Crimo III, 23, of Highwood, Illinois appeared in the courtroom in a wheelchair at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday, June 26, 2024 for a change of plea hearing in front of Lake County Judge Victoria Rossetti. The mass shooting suspect was in a wheelchair because he told Lake County correctional staff that he was not sure he would be steady on his feet at the hearing.
Robert Crimo III, 23, initially pleaded not guilty to 21 counts of first-degree murder, 48 counts of attempted murder and 48 counts of aggravated battery with a firearm, but last week the Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office contacted the victims and their families, informing them of the possible plea change. Numerous media sources reported, leading up to today’s court hearing, that the Highland Park parade shooting suspect was expected to change his plea.
In court on Wednesday morning, June 26, 2024, the lawyers of Robert Crimo III, 23, said the defendant would plead guilty to 55 counts — 7 counts of first-degree murder and 48 additional counts.
However, when the judge asked Crimo III if this was the agreement, he stared at the judge, and did not reply, before leaving the courtroom for a recess. After returning from recess, Crimo III said he did not want the guilty plea deal. The guilty plea would have provided closure with a mandatory sentence of natural life in the Illinois Department of Corrections without eligibility for supervised release.
Robert E. Crimo III’s public defenders Gregory Ticsay and Anton Trizna did not provide an explanation for their defendant’s lack of response or lack of agreement to the guilty plea.
Looking forward, court proceedings will continue, and the trial date that was originally set for February 24, 2025 is subject to change.
Following Wednesday Hearing …
“Our office will have limited public comment because the case remains open, and is set for trial in February 2025. We have worked closely with the victims over the last few days and weeks in anticipation of today. We will continue to support them. The entire trial team and group of victim support specialists met with victims and survivors for as long as they wanted today, and we will be ready for trial.”
— Lake County State’s Attorney Eric Rinehart
The guilty plea would have provided some closure for family and friend’s of victims, for victims that survived their wounds, and for residents of Highland Park, especially. Many people at the court hearing had prepared to make statements, including expressing their grief, following the anticipated guilty plea by Crimo III.
Crimo III’s parents sat behind him, but Crimo barely looks at them.
In Illinois, a defendant who is found guilty of first-degree murder that involves at least two victims is likely to receive an automatic sentence of life in prison without parole.
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The man accused of killing seven people and injuring dozens more at a 2022 Fourth of July parade in Highland Park rejected a deal requiring him to plead guilty to seven charges of murder Wednesday in a stunning courtroom scene just days before the second anniversary of the attack (Erik Runge/WGN News). YouTube Tips ⓘ