HIGHLAND PARK, IL — Robert “Bob” Crimo Jr., the father of the man accused in the Highland Park 4th of July parade mass shooting, pleaded guilty to seven reduced counts of reckless conduct on the first day of his trial Monday.
Bob Crimo, a former local business owner and one time mayoral candidate, faced seven felony counts of reckless conduct — one count for each person killed in the shooting — after he signed an affidavit on Dec. 16, 2019, enabling his then-19-year-old son, Robert “Bobby” Crimo III, to apply for a firearm owner’s identification, or FOID, card from Illinois State Police before he turned 21.
Find out what's happening in Highland Parkwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Related: No ‘Secret Evidence’ In Bob Crimo Trial: Judge Declines To Seal Son’s Interrogation Tape
His son is accused of shooting more than 50 people, seven fatally, at the 2022 4th of July parade.
Find out what's happening in Highland Parkwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Bob Crimo, 59, pleaded guilty Monday to seven counts of a class A misdemeanor in exchange for 60 days in the Lake County Jail, 100 hours of community service and two years of probation. He must also surrender his FOID card and any guns he owns, and will have to pay court costs.
Lake County State’s Attorney Eric Rinehart said witnesses from the Illinois State Police personnel would have testified that state police relied on Crimo’ written affirmation that there was no reason his son should not have a firearm.
“Witnesses would testify that, at the time the defendant sent the sponsorship affidavit to the Illinois State Police in December of 2019, the defendant was aware of the following,” Rinehart said, “that his son had sent suicidal text messages as recently as September 2019, according to a forensic analysis of Robert Crimo III’s phone, that the Highland Park Police Department had received information about threats to the family from Robert Crimo III in September of 2019, that the Highland Park Police Department had received information about Robert Crimo III expressing suicidal ideation in April of 2019 and finally that Robert Crimo III had expressed an interest in committing mass shooting to Young Life Camp personnel in 2014 or 2015.”
Crimo’s defense attorney, George Gomez, sought and received permission from Lake County Associate Judge George Strickland for Crimo to turn himself in on Nov. 15.
In August, attorneys for Crimo unsuccessfully tried to have the charges against him thrown out, claiming he was charged under an unconstitutionally vague law.
“Today, the legal system has found that Robert Crimo Jr. bears responsibility for endangering many and Mr. Crimo Jr., himself, has agreed it was a crime. Today, we know the father of the Highland Park shooter will receive certain punishment for that decision,” Rinehart said in a statement Monday afternoon. “Today, parents bear a forceful responsibility for their decisions to allow their children access to weapons, especially when they are acutely aware of the potential consequences to themselves and society.”
The charges against Bob Crimo follow those against Michigan parents James and Jennifer Crumbley, who each face four counts of involuntary manslaughter. Their son, Ethan, pleaded guilty in the deadly 2021 Oxford High School shooting, which left four students dead. Ethan Crumbley’s sentencing is set for December, while his parents are due to go to trial in January.
Crimo, Jr.’s son, Robert Crimo III, faces 117 charges for killing seven people at the Highland Park July 4 parade: Katie Goldstein, Irina McCarthy, Kevin McCarthy, Stephen Straus, Jacki Sundheim, Nicolás Toledo, Eduardo Uvaldo. His next hearing is Dec. 11.
More coverage:
Bobby Crimo Claims Highland Park Parade Shooting Was FBI ‘False Flag’
Father Of Accused Highland Park Shooter Fails To Exclude Evidence
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.