September, Friday 20, 2024

Robert Crimo Jr Admits to Assisting Son in Obtaining Firearm: Father's Plea in Highland Park Murder Case


LpM04BT6wQTPaCm.png

The father of a man accused of a mass murder at a Fourth of July parade has pleaded guilty to a charge of reckless conduct. Robert Crimo Jr was found guilty of helping his son obtain the gun allegedly used in the attack. As part of the plea deal, Crimo Jr was sentenced to 60 days in jail, two years of probation, and 100 hours of community service. The elder Crimo sponsored his son's firearms ownership card despite knowing about his son's history of mental illness and threats of violence. This was confirmed by the fact that the police had been called to the Crimo household on two occasions, once after a suicide attempt and another time when the son threatened to kill family members. Police reports state that knives were confiscated from the premises, but no charges were filed at the time. It was revealed that Crimo Jr sponsored his son's firearms ownership card a few months after these incidents. Crimo III, who was 19 at the time, then used the card to purchase several guns, including the one used in the mass shooting that killed seven people and injured dozens at a holiday parade on July 4, 2022, in Highland Park, Illinois. The trial date for Crimo III is to be set later in the year. Prosecutions of parents of alleged mass shooters are rare, but the parents of a teenager who shot and killed four classmates in Michigan are set to go on trial for charges of involuntary manslaughter next year. Additionally, an Illinois man who provided his son with a rifle that was used in a mass shooting in Tennessee was sentenced to 18 months in prison in March. Crimo Jr had initially been scheduled to go on trial for seven reckless conduct charges, each carrying a maximum sentence of three years in prison, but he reached a plea deal with prosecutors before his trial began. His lawyer stated that the plea deal was in the best interests of the community and his son's trial defense, as evidence presented during the trial could have jeopardized Crimo III's case.