Highland Park mass shooting trial kicks off with jury selection

WAUKEGAN, Ill. (CN) — Nearly three years since seven people were killed and dozens more were injured when a gunman opened fire at a Fourth of July parade in Highland Park, Illinois, the suspect’s trial proceedings began on Monday with jury selection.

Robert Crimo III, 24, was initially charged with over 100 criminal charges in connection to the shooting, including 21 counts of first-degree murder — three counts for each of the seven people who were killed — along with 48 counts of attempted murder and aggravated battery for each person injured in the shooting. He pleaded not guiltyto all of the charges.

But before jury selection started, Crimo’s attorneys motioned to dismiss the 48 aggravated battery counts, which Lake County Judge Victoria Rossetti ultimately agreed to. Even with the reduced number of charges, Crimo still faces life in prison if convicted of the murder and attempted murder counts.

Fewer than half of the jury members were selected Monday and jury selection proceedings are set to continue Tuesday.

Crimo was present in a black suit and tie during the morning jury selection session, but he did not return after lunch. Neither did his parents, the lone two who sat behind him in the courtroom Monday morning.

“I love my son very much. I fully support his decision to go trial in this case," Robert Crimo Jr. said of his son’s trial in an e-mailed statement ahead of court Monday morning. “Like any human being in this country, Bobby deserves the presumption of innocence and a fair trial. No matter what happens, you will always be my son.”

Rossetti noted that she warned Crimo at his final pre-trial hearing on Feb. 20, that the trial would proceed even in his absence.

At that hearing, she also ruled that victims who are set to testify can remain in the courtroom for the duration of the trial. Rossetti noted before jury selection began that this motion did not apply to reporters who testify, as prosecutors on Monday indicated that they might call up a reporter who purportedly had access to Crimo ahead of trial proceedings.

Crimo’s trial has been rife with setbacks since he was indicted in 2022. He initially requested a speedy trial and planned to represent himself, but he retracted and asked for a public defender in January 2024.

He was expected to take a plea deal in June, which stipulated that Crimo would plead guilty to seven counts of first-degree murder and 48 counts of aggravated battery with a firearm and face life in prison with no chance of parole, butscrapped it at the last minute.

Crimo’s attorneys tried to get his police interview from the night of the shooting thrown out ahead of his trial. Assistant Public Defender Gregory Ticsay argued at a hearing on Dec. 18 that Crimo was improperly denied access to an attorney during his initial police interview.

Police informed Crimo that there was an attorney present to see him, however, they failed to mention that the attorney was retained by his father, which Ticsay argued violated Crimo’s rights to due-process. Rossetti disagreed, and said that Crimo willingly and knowingly spoke to police on July 4, 2022.

During the December hearing, prosecutors showed footage from Crimo’s interview where he repeatedly denied to speak to the lawyer who was waiting for him in the lobby.

Officials said Crimo wore makeup and disguised himself as a woman to hide his noticeable face and neck tattoos. They said they weren’t entirely certain of his motive for the shooting, but just days before the shooting he purportedly shared antisemitic and racist tropes on social media.

Crimo’s father, who was also charged in connection with the shooting, told a gaggle of reporters after the December hearing that he was certain his son didn’t know about the attorney he’d hired after the shooting, but he declined to speak on the matter further.

Robert Crimo Jr. pleaded guilty to criminal recklessness in connection with the shooting spree in 2023. He was charged with seven counts of criminal recklessness, one for each person killed in the shooting, because he sponsored his son’s Illinois Firearm Owner ID card application, despite concerning past incidents.

Crimo used that ID card to purchase the rifle he used to fire more than 80 rounds from a rooftop overlooking a crowded Highland Park Fourth of July parade.

Rossetti said opening arguments for Crimo’s trial will begin on March 3, and she indicated it could take up to a month, or longer, for the jury to reach a verdict.

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