The Lake County judge handling the case against the father of the alleged Highland Park parade shooter said Friday he wants to hold the trial before the end of 2023.
“I am somewhat bound and determined that this will go to trial at the end of October or the beginning of November,” Lake County Judge George Strickland said during a status hearing Friday.
Robert E. Crimo Jr. is charged with seven counts of reckless conduct. Prosecutors say he signed his son’s firearm owner’s identification card application while knowing his son had expressed “violent ideations” and had threatened to kill himself and his family.
Robert E. Crimo III is accused of firing on the crowd at last year’s Fourth of July parade, killing seven people and wounding 48 others. Both the father and son have pleaded not guilty to the charges against them.
The son is being held at Lake County Jail. The father has been free since posting a $50,000 bond after he was charged in December.
Strickland did not set a trial date Friday. He said he might oversee eight homicide trials in 2024.
Strickland set a June 30 deadline for any motions to be filed in the case. He set a July 14 date for hearings on those matters.
Strickland also said an upcoming hearing will likely be about media access during the trial. He said he is weighing whether to grant a request for media audio and video access. Strickland said any potential witnesses have the right to object to being videotaped during the trial, and the judge told the lawyers in the case to notify those witnesses about the media request.
