Robert E. Crimo III, left, is escorted into a courtroom during a hearing before Judge Victoria A. Rossetti at the Lake County Courthouse, Waukegan, Ill., Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024. (AP Photo / Nam Y. Huh, Pool)
The February trial date for alleged Highland Park parade gunman Robert Crimo III has been removed, with a new trial date coming either later this year or in early 2025.
Crimo III late last year had sought to act as his own attorney and demanded a speedy trial, pushing for that to be set next month. But after he backtracked last week — asking for the public defender’s office to be re-appointed as his legal counsel — his attorney Anton Trizna on Wednesday requested additional time to prepare.
Judge Victoria Rossetti agreed, removing the Feb. 21, 2024, trial date. But a new date has not yet been set.
Crimo III was indicted last year on 117 charges, including 21 counts of first-degree murder stemming from the mass shooting. He faces a minimum of 45 years on each murder count and would receive a life sentence if convicted on more than one of those counts.
Trizna suggested moving the trial back to February 2025, the date which had initially been targeted for trial. But Lake County State’s Attorney Eric Rinehart said his office has already “extended significant resources” preparing for a trial that was expected to begin in a matter of weeks. He asked for the trial to be moved to sometime in September or October this year.
Rossetti did not want to make an immediate decision, and will instead set a date during a hearing late next month.
Crimo III allegedly fired more than 80 rounds from a Smith & Wesson M&P 15 semi-automatic rifle during the attack and disguised himself in women’s clothing in order to conceal distinctive face and neck tattoos and blend into the crowd as he made his escape.
More than 50 people were shot, including seven people who were killed: 64-year-old Katherine Goldstein, 35-year-old Irina McCarthy and her 37-year-old husband Kevin McCarthy, 63-year-old Jacquelyn Sundheim, 88-year-old Stephen Straus, 78-year-old Nicolas Toledo-Zaragoza and 69-year-old Eduardo Uvaldo.
Crimo III, who had no legal training, surprised observers last month when he told the court he intended to represent himself at trial, despite Rossetti admonishment that he would not receive any special privileges while detained in jail as he prepared for the case.
However, he quickly reversed course at the subsequent hearing, telling Rossetti he once again wanted the public defender’s representation. Trizna on Wednesday said he’d spoken with Crimo III and was once again prepared to act as his attorney.
Crimo III’s father — Robert Crimo Jr. — pleaded guilty last year to seven misdemeanor counts of reckless conduct, after prosecutors alleged he took a “reckless and unjustified risk” in December 2019 when he signed an affidavit supporting his son’s FOID card application.
At the time, Crimo III was only 19 years old and could not legally obtain a FOID card or purchase a firearm without his father’s assistance.
Contact Matt Masterson: @ByMattMasterson | [email protected] | (773) 509-5431
