Man accused of killing 7 at July 4 parade in 2022 refuses plea deal, IL officials say
The mass shooting suspect accused of killing seven and wounding 48 during a 2022 Fourth of July parade in a Chicago suburb refused a plea deal as the two-year anniversary of the deadly shooting nears, officials said.
Robert E. Crimo III initially pleaded not guilty to 117 counts of first-degree murder and attempted murder, according to WLS and the Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office.
On Wednesday, June 26, he refused a plea deal in a live-streamed court appearance viewed by McClatchy News.
Crimo refused to accept a plea deal for seven murder charges — one for each of the seven victims killed — and 48 counts of aggravated battery with a firearm — one for each of the 48 victims wounded.
A gleeful parade on July 4, 2022, in Highland Park became a “devastating killing spree” when Crimo sprayed gunfire from a rooftop onto parade-goers, according to the state’s attorney’s office and McClatchy News.
The mass shooting, the fifth-deadliest of that year, shattered the small Illinois community.
“Each day, we will find the strength to take a step forward. No single action will heal us, but many small steps, taken together as a community will help, and each of us has a role in the healing process,” Highland Park Mayor Nancy Rotering said in the aftermath of the shooting.
Crimo, 21 at the time, was arrested hours after the shooting, officials said. He was charged with seven counts of first-degree murder, but was indicted on 117 counts of first-degree murder and attempted murder less than a month later, according to the July 27, 2022, news release from prosecutors.
Crimo was denied bond and has been in jail since his arrest, officials said.
He entered a not guilty plea in August 2022, according to WLS.
In December 2022, prosecutors charged Crimo’s father, Robert Crimo Jr., with seven counts of felony reckless conduct, saying he helped his son obtain a FOID card, which allowed his son to purchase the gun he used in the July 4 shooting, officials said.
Crimo Jr. negotiated a guilty plea in November 2023 to misdemeanor reckless conduct charges and was sentenced to 60 days in jail and a two-year probation, prosecutors said.
Highland Park is about a 30-mile drive north from Chicago.
Victims killed in Highland Park mass shooting
Katherine Goldstein (64) of Highland Park, Illinois
Irina McCarthy (35) of Highland Park, Illinois
Kevin McCarthy (37) of Highland Park, Illinois
Jacquelyn Sundheim (63) of Highland Park, Illinois
Stephen Straus (88) of Highland Park, Illinois
Nicolas Toledo-Zaragoza (78) of Morelos, Mexico
Eduardo Uvaldo (69) of Waukegan, Illinois
Source: City of Highland Park.
This story was originally published June 26, 2024 at 7:49 AM with the headline "Man accused of killing 7 at July 4 parade in 2022 refuses plea deal, IL officials say."
