Bond set at $50K for father of Highland Park capturing suspect

A choose on Saturday set bond at $50,000 for the daddy of an Illinois man charged with killing seven folks at a July 4 parade who’s accused of serving to his son get a gun license years earlier than the capturing on a suburban Chicago principal avenue.

Robert Crimo Jr., 58, seemed somber and drained in his first look earlier than a choose since voluntarily surrendering to police Friday. His lawyer, George M. Gomez, instructed the choose Saturday that the daddy of three would be capable of pay the required bond quantity for his launch.

Crimo, a uncommon case of a father or mother charged after a toddler is accused in a mass capturing, faces seven felony counts of reckless conduct — one depend for every particular person fatally shot throughout the summertime parade. Every depend carries a most three-year jail time period.

At a short 10-minute listening to, carried out by way of video hyperlink, Lake County Decide Jacquelyn Melius mentioned she accepted an settlement between Crimo’s lawyer and prosecutors that bond be set at $50,000, which was decrease than the $500,000 bond that would have been imposed.

Gomez instructed the choose earlier than she set bond that his shopper had been a enterprise proprietor for over 30 years and had lifelong ties to the group of Highland Park, the place the mass capturing occurred over the summer time. Prosecutors didn’t oppose Crimo’s launch on bond.

“Mr. Crimo just isn’t a hazard to the group. He isn’t a flight danger,” Gomez mentioned, including that Crimo had cooperated absolutely with authorities for the reason that capturing.

Among the many circumstances of his launch, the choose instructed Crimo, was that he flip in any gun licenses, in addition to any weapons at his house, inside 24 hours of the listening to. Crimo presently lives in Highwood, a metropolis that borders Highland Park.

Requested by the choose if he might hear the proceedings via his video hyperlink, Crimo mentioned that he might — however he in any other case made no statements to the courtroom.

Decide Melius set his subsequent listening to for Jan. 12.

Lake County State’s Legal professional Eric Rinehart mentioned Friday that costs in opposition to the daddy have been primarily based on Crimo sponsoring his son’s utility for a gun license in December 2019. His son was 19 years previous on the time.

“Dad and mom and guardians are in one of the best place to resolve whether or not their youngsters ought to have a weapon,” Rinehart mentioned. “On this case, the system failed when Robert Crimo Jr. sponsored his son. He knew what he knew and he signed the shape anyway.”

Authorities have beforehand mentioned the accused shooter, Robert Crimo III, tried suicide by machete in April 2019 and in September 2019 was accused by a member of the family of creating threats to “kill everybody.”

These reviews got here months earlier than Crimo Jr. sponsored his son’s utility.

Gomez, the Chicago-area legal professional, known as the fees in opposition to the daddy “baseless and unprecedented” in a written assertion on Friday.

“This choice ought to alarm each single father or mother in the USA of America who in keeping with the Lake County State’s Legal professional is aware of precisely what’s going on with their 19 yr previous grownup kids and will be held criminally chargeable for actions taken practically three years later,” Gomez mentioned.

Gomez mentioned his shopper “continues to sympathize and really feel horrible for the people and households who have been injured and misplaced family members.” However the legal professional known as the fees “politically motivated and a distraction from the true change that should occur on this nation.”

A grand jury in July indicted Robert Crimo III on 21 first-degree homicide counts, 48 counts of tried homicide and 48 counts of aggravated battery, representing the seven folks killed and dozens wounded within the assault on a beloved vacation occasion in Highland Park.

Authorized specialists have mentioned it’s uncommon for an accused shooter’s father or mother or guardian to face costs — partially as a result of it’s troublesome to show such costs.

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In a single notable exception, a Michigan prosecutor final yr filed involuntary manslaughter costs in opposition to the mother and father of a teen accused of fatally capturing 4 college students at his highschool. A January trial date in that case has been delayed whereas the state appeals courtroom considers an enchantment by the mother and father.

Authorities have beforehand mentioned that Illinois State Police reviewed Crimo III’s December 2019 gun license utility and located no motive to disclaim it as a result of he had no arrests, no prison document, no severe psychological well being issues, no orders of safety and no different habits that might disqualify him.

However following the parade capturing, public information confirmed that Crimo III tried suicide by machete in April 2019, in keeping with a police report obtained by The Related Press that famous a “historical past of makes an attempt.”

In September 2019, police obtained a report from a member of the family that Crimo III had a group of knives and had threatened to “kill everybody.”

Each Crimo III and his mom disputed the specter of violence on the time. Police have mentioned father Robert Crimo Jr. later instructed investigators the knives belonged to him, and authorities returned them.

Robert Crimo Jr. has proven up at a number of pretrial hearings for his son this yr, nodding in greeting when his son entered the courtroom shackled and flanked by guards. The daddy has been a well-known face round Highland Park, the place he was as soon as a mayoral candidate and was well-known for working comfort shops.

In media interviews after the capturing, Robert Crimo Jr. had mentioned he didn’t anticipate to face costs and didn’t consider he did something incorrect by serving to his son get a gun license via the state’s established course of.