A judge refused to dismiss his case on Monday against the Illinois dad, who helped obtain a firearm license for his son three years before it was alleged that he killed seven people during a Fourth of July Parade outside of Chicago.
According to the Associated Press, an attorney for Robert Crimo Jr. argued this month that Illinois prosecutors had charged him with violating the Constitution by charging him in the wake of the Highland Park massacre in 2022.
Lake County Judge George Strickland dismissed this argument as well as the defense’s contention that prosecutors had charged Crimo Junior too late – after a three year statute of limitations supposedly expired. Crimo’s Jr. trial on Nov. 6, as scheduled, will now proceed.
Crimo Jr., pleaded guilty to seven counts for reckless conduct earlier this year — one charge per person killed. Each count is punishable by a maximum of three years in prison. The prosecution alleged that Robert Crimo III had threatened violence and he had helped him obtain a firearm license.
HIGHLAND PARK SHOOTING SUSPECT ROBERT CRIMO PLEADS NOT GUILTY
Highland Park shooter Robert Crimo III pleaded not guilt to shooting seven people dead and injuring many others during a Fourth of Jul parade in the city about an hour from Chicago.
In the section of state law that prosecutors invoked in to charge Crimo Junior., it states that “a person is guilty of reckless conduct if he or she recklessly commits an act by lawful or illegal means that causes great bodily injury or permanent disability or deformity to another person.”
Defense filings argued that due to the lack of specificity in the law, it is impossible to determine what actions are criminally reckless. The law does not define “cause”, they say, which allows prosecutors to incorrectly link a signing of a firearm license application with a shooting that occurred years later.
The AP reported that the reckless conduct charge “seeks to criminalize the Defendant’s lawful act” of signing a true affidavit. It also noted that Illinois has never prosecuted anyone for signing a true affidavit while under oath.
(AP photo/Nam-Y. Huh Pool)
Strickland told the AP that the law, which is similar in structure to other constitutional laws, limits reckless behavior to acts that cause serious bodily injury.
A grand jury in Illinois indicted Crimo 3 on 117 counts last year for his role in this tragedy. This included 21 counts of First-degree Murder, which consisted of three counts per victim.
According to the office of Illinois State Attorney Eric Rinehart, Crimo has also been charged with 48 counts for attempted murder, and 48 counts for aggravated battery using a firearm, per victim that was hit by a bullet or bullet fragment, or shrapnel.
According to reports, bomb-making materials have been found in the apartment belonging to Robert Crimo III, the gunman who fired at a parade in Highland Park, Illinois.
A judge in Illinois said that there were 47 victims named during the August 2022 arraignment.
This report was contributed by Audrey Conklin of Fox News, Ruth Ravve from Associated Press and Audrey Conklin of Fox News.
