Robert Crimo III expected to change plea in Highland Park shooting

Robert Crimo III is expected to change his plea next week, almost two years after he allegedly opened fire at the Highland Park Independence Day parade, killing seven people and wounding dozens of others.

Lake County State’s Attorney Eric Rinehart confirmed Thursday night that Crimo, who had pleaded not guilty to 117 felony counts, is expected to change his plea at a Wednesday hearing before Judge Victoria Rossetti.

Rinehart declined to discuss specifics of the plea change, other than making a brief statement.

“We have been continuing to work with victims and survivors as the situation develops,” he said.

The state’s attorney’s office had contacted victims’ family and other survivors of the shooting to alert them to Wednesday’s hearing. Crimo had not been scheduled to appear in court again until August, as prosecutors and his attorneys from the public defender’s office were continuing to work toward a February 2025 trial date.

Court records indicate that Crimo’s case was called Tuesday, with both sides agreeing to a June 26 hearing.

Deputy Chief Christopher Covelli of the Lake County Sheriff’s Office, which provides courthouse security, said that an operational plan is in place for the hearing.

“We will have extra sheriff’s deputies on site that day to ensure order is kept both inside and outside of the courtroom,” he said Thursday night.

Crimo is charged with 21 counts of first-degree murder and dozens of other felony counts. Under state law, should Crimo plead guilty to the murder of more than one person, he would automatically face a sentence of natural life in prison.

Crimo has been in custody since the evening of July 4, 2022, when a police officer recognized his vehicle and pulled him over. Hours earlier, Crimo is alleged to have climbed atop a store in downtown Highland Park and fired dozens of rounds from an assault rifle on the crowd gathered to watch the Independence Day parade

Authorities said he disguised himself as a woman in order to blend in among the panicked parade goers. He then drove into Wisconsin, where, police said, he considered carrying out another shooting.

The shooting took an awful toll. Among the seven dead were a Highland Park couple, Kevin and Irina McCarthy, shot as they shielded their young son from the barrage of gunfire. Dozens of others were wounded.

Crimo’s father, Robert Crimo Jr., was charged in the case in late 2022. The father signed forms that allowed his then-underaged son to obtain authorization to purchase guns. Prosecutors said the father should have known that Crimo III was a poor candidate for gun ownership, given some troubling indicators in his past. The father pleaded guilty to misdemeanor reckless conduct and served a short jail sentence last year. He and Crimo’s mother have been regular attendees at their son’s court hearings.

The City of Highland Park canceled its July 4 parade last year, but will renew the event this year. The city will hold a remembrance ceremony before the parade.