The father of the alleged Highland Park mass shooter pleaded guilty to seven misdemeanor counts of reckless conduct just before his trial was due to begin Monday. Robert Crimo Jr., whose son is charged with killing seven people at a Fourth of July parade in the Chicago suburb last year, had been charged with seven felony counts of reckless misconduct, one for each victim. Under a plea deal, he will serve 60 days in jail and 2 years on probation, CBS News reports. Crimo Jr., who could have faced up to three years in prison on each charge, also has to surrender any weapons he owns and perform 100 hours of community service.
Under Illinois law, a police-issued Firearm Owners Identification card is required to buy gun or ammunition, and applicants under 21 must have the consent of a parent or guardian. Prosecutors said Crimo Jr. sponsored his son's application for an FOID card card in 2019, allowing the then-19-year-old Robert Crimo III to buy a gun despite knowing his son had "violent ideations." Months earlier, a relative had told police that the teen had a collection of knives and had threatened to "kill everyone," the AP reports. Under the plea deal, Crimo Jr., who had previously denied wrongdoing, is admitting he knew his son "was a substantial risk to others," per CBS. He has also been required to give up his own FOID card.
Defense attorney George Gomez said his client pleaded guilty to spare the community from reliving the "tragic events." Before the plea deal, Gomez had described the charges as "baseless and unprecedented," the New York Times reports. No trial date has been set for Crimo III, who faces 21 counts of first-degree murder, three for each person killed, along with 48 counts of attempted murder and 48 counts of aggravated battery. He has been in custody since his arrest hours after the shooting. (More Highland Park mass shooting stories.)
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