The man accused of killing seven people at the Highland Park Fourth of July parade is due back in court Tuesday, his first appearance since he was indicted on more than 100 felony counts.
Robert Crimo III, 22, of Highland Park, is scheduled to appear at 11 a.m. in Lake County court in front of Judge Victoria Rossetti. Crimo’s case is scheduled for case management conference, which is often a routine hearing intended to ensure that evidence is being shared and attorneys are working through potential pretrial issues.
Advertisement
Sometimes at management conferences, attorneys will file or tell the judge they intend to file new motions. As of Monday, however, there had been no new motions added to Crimo’s file at the Waukegan courthouse.
Lake County prosecutors and Crimo’s public defenders both did not return phone calls seeking comment on the case late last week. Highland Park police maintained their policy of not commenting on the still-active investigation by declining to discuss it Friday.
Advertisement
Tuesday’s appearance will be Crimo’s first in a Lake County courtroom since early August, when he entered a not guilty plea to 117 felony counts for the deaths of seven people and the wounding of dozens more at the July 4 parade.
Since that Aug. 3 appearance, Crimo turned 22, in late September in custody at the Lake County jail where he is being held in lieu of bond.
Over the last three months, he has been named in a dozen lawsuits that have been filed on behalf of parade shooting victims. The suits have targeted Crimo and the manufacturer of the assault rifle Crimo allegedly used to fire more than 80 rounds from a store rooftop into the crowd gathered in downtown Highland Park for the parade. The store where Crimo bought the rifle is also named, as is Crimo’s father.
After the shooting, Crimo initially evaded arrest by disguising himself as a woman and blending into the retreating crowd, police allege. Within hours, police identified him as a person of interest, and he was arrested later that day after a North Chicago police officer spotted Crimo in his car on U.S. Route 41.
Check back for updates.
