Robert Crimo III again declined to attend a court hearing Wednesday during which his attorneys said they are seeking to suppress statements he gave to police in the hours after the July 4, 2022, parade mass shooting in Highland Park.
Lake County Judge Victoria Rossetti said she would issue an order to re-admonish Crimo that his lack of attendance will not delay his upcoming murder trial, and that Crimo could waive his right to confront witnesses should he not come to court.
Wednesday’s proceeding was the second consecutive hearing that Crimo, who is in custody, declined to attend.
Rossetti set the next hearing in the case for Nov. 14, where she will consider a number of pretrial motions filed by Crimo’s attorneys and Lake County prosecutors.
His attorneys from the Public Defender’s Office filed a motion this week asking the judge to bar statements Crimo gave to police on the night of July 4, 2022.
Hours earlier, authorities say, Crimo climbed onto a downtown store roof and fired on a crowd gathered for the holiday parade, injuring dozens and killing seven people. He was then able to escape in the ensuing chaos, but was stopped by a police officer and arrested at around 6:45 p.m. that night, according to police.
He was questioned extensively, but defense attorneys say police violated his rights when they failed to fully disclose details about a lawyer who was at the Highland Park police station to represent him. The lawyer arrived at around 8:30 p.m. but never met with Crimo, who, according to the motion, declined to meet the lawyer, but was not informed by police that the attorney had been hired by his parents.
The motion is expected to be considered at the Nov. 14 hearing, along with seven state motions seeking to admit various information into evidence at trial. Crimo is scheduled to stand trial in February.
