A judge ruled Friday that video of alleged Highland Park mass shooter Robert Crimo III’s police interview won’t be publicly disseminated during the reckless conduct trial of the suspect’s father.
Lake County Judge George Strickland said Friday, though, that transcripts of Crimo III’s interrogation can be used at Robert Crimo Jr.’s trial, which is scheduled to begin Monday.
Prosecutors plan to use information from the interrogation to support their allegation that Crimo Jr. acted recklessly when he vouched for his son on a state firearm application when Crimo III was 19 and not yet old enough to purchase guns. Police officers who conducted the interview will read the transcripts, prosecutors said.
The judge’s ruling came Friday after Crimo III’s lawyers from the Lake County public defender’s office argued that disseminating information from the police interrogation could infringe on Crimo III’s right to a future fair trial.
Police interviewed Crimo III for more than seven hours after he was arrested for allegedly opening fire on a crowd gathered on July 4, 2022, to see the Highland Park parade. Seven people were killed, and dozens were injured. Crimo was arrested later that day and interviewed into the morning hours of July 5.
Crimo III’s attorneys argued that any dissemination of the police interview — even the reading of transcripts — could taint the prospective jury pool for a future trial. They suggested that the public be barred from the courtroom when that interview evidence is presented.
The judge, though, said that would amount to admitting “secret” evidence at an open trial.
“I will not allow what I consider to be secret evidence,” Strickland said.
Authorities contend that the father acted recklessly by signing firearm forms for his son because he should have known Crimo III had violent tendencies and was a poor candidate for gun ownership.
The bench trial of the father is expected to last three to four days. The judge said Friday that he would need some time to review the evidence at the trial’s conclusion, and, therefore, does not plan to issue his decision immediately at the end of the trial.
