An Illinois grand jury on Wednesday formally indicted the father of a man charged with fatally shooting seven people at a Fourth of July parade in suburban Chicago, the Lake County State’s Attorney Office said.
The indictment charges Robert Crimo Jr., 58, with seven counts of reckless conduct. Prosecutors have said he helped his son, Robert Crimo III, obtain a gun license years before the shooting in Highland Park, even though the then-19-year-old had threatened violence.
Sara Avalos, a spokesperson for the prosecutors office, confirmed the grand jury indictment and said the father will be arraigned Thursday.
Robert Crimo Jr. was arrested in December, also on seven felony counts of reckless conduct, one for each person killed. Each count carries a maximum 3-year prison term. The longtime resident and well-known figure in Highland Park was released after his arrest on a $50,000 bond.
At a brief hearing last month, prosecutors had told Judge George Strickland at a Lake County Courthouse in Waukegan, north of Highland Park, they needed more time to present evidence to the grand jury.
In a brief statement released by his office later Wednesday, Lake County State’s Attorney Eric Rinehart said the grand jury agreed the case against the father should move forward.
“Parents who help their kids get weapons of war are morally and legally responsible when those kids hurt others with those weapons,” Rinehart said.
George M. Gomez, the father’s Chicago-area attorney, said Wednesday evening that he couldn’t comment because he hadn’t yet seen the indictment. But he earlier called the accusations against his client “baseless and unprecedented.”
Rinehart has previously said the accusations against the father are based on his sponsorship of his son’s application for a gun license in December 2019. Authorities say Robert Crimo III attempted suicide by machete in April 2019 and in September 2019 was accused by a family member of making threats to “kill…
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