Highland Park parade shooter's sentencing hearing set for next week
The man who admitted to killing seven people and wounding dozens more at the July 4th parade in Highland Park in 2022 will face sentencing next week.
Robert Crimo III pleaded guilty last month to 21 counts of first-degree murder and 48 counts of attempted first-degree murder just moments before opening statements were set to begin in his trial.
He faces a mandatory life sentence without the possibility of parole, but legal experts said it could still be interesting to see how the hearing goes down when the hearing begins on Wednesday.
Before Crimo accepted a guilty plea last month, dozens of victims and their families were prepared to testify against him. Next week, they will get their chance to speak out in court by providing victim impact statements at his sentencing.
CBS News Chicago legal analyst Irv Miller said the hearing could take two to three days, with more than 50 victim impact statements expected.
"It's going to be a very emotional sentencing hearing for many reasons," Miller said.
Those who were killed in the shooting included 64-year-old Katherine Goldstein, 35-year-old Irina McCarthy, 37-year-old Kevin McCarthy, 63-year-old Jacquelyn Sundheim, 88-year-old Stephen Straus, 78-year-old Nicolas Toledo-Zaragoza, and 69-year-old Eduardo Uvaldo.
Another 48 people were wounded in the shooting, including Cooper Roberts, then 8, who was left paralyzed from the waist down.
"Justice in the legal system does not descend upon a case. It is earned. It comes from the bravery of every victim and every surviving family member who was prepared to come forward in this trial, and they will come forward in this sentencing hearing," Lake County State's Attorney Eric Rinehart said after Crimo pleaded guilty last mont.
It's questionable if Crimo will be in the courtroom when any of his victims speak at his sentencing. Miller said it's Crimo's constitutional right to be present, but he thinks Crimo might decide not to attend.
"I think there's probably a better than even chance that he's going to refuse to come out of the lockup, because he doesn't want to hear this stuff," Miller said.
Crimo repeatedly failed to attend court proceedings in his case before ultimately pleading guilty. During the three days of jury selection, he was only in court for the first half of each of the first two days, and was not in court at all on the final day of jury selection.
If Crimo doesn't show up for the hearing, it's possible the judge could order the Lake County Sheriff to physically bring Crimo into court to listen to the victim impact statements.
Regardless of Crimo's decision, Miller said Judge Victoria A. Rossetti has an easy decision to make as far as his sentence.
"She has only one choice: natural life without any chance of parole," Miller said.
The only question the judge faces is whether to sentence him to consecutive or concurrent life terms. Miller said that does matter if a future governor ever wants to commute his sentence.
"It will make it real tough for a future governor 50 years from now to give him any consideration when he has seven consecutive life sentences as opposed to seven concurrent life sentences," Miller said.
Miller hopes the judge makes a statement about that possibility when she sentences Crimo.
"I would say to the future governors of the state of Illinois, the future prison review boards, this man should never ever be released from the penitentiary. He's a danger to society now; he will always be a danger,'" Miller said.
Miller said it's likely Crimo will serve his time at Menard Correctional Center south of St. Louis. It's Illinois' largest maximum-security prison for men.
"This closet that he's going to be living in, basically, that has a bed, a toilet, a sink, and bars to look out at, and that is it," Miller said.
Crimo's father, Robert Crimo Jr., was sentenced to 60 days in jail in 2023, after he was convicted of seven misdemeanor counts of reckless conduct for signing off on his son's application for a Firearm Owners Identification card.
Prosecutors have said Crimo Jr. should have known his son was a danger to the public when he applied for a FOID card. His son was only 19 at the time, and needed a parent to sign his application.
Crimo Jr. spent 27 days in jail before he was released early for good behavior. He also was required to perform 100 hours of community service, surrender his FOID card, and give up any guns he might own as part of his sentence. He's also not allowed to sponsor anyone else's FOID card applications in the future.
