Highland Park shooting suspect's father charged with reckless conduct - The Washington Post

1 year ago 52

Prosecutors successful Illinois announced felony charges Friday against the begetter of the antheral accused of sidesplitting 7 radical and injuring much than 40 during a Fourth of July parade successful Highland Park.

Robert Crimo Jr. was charged with 7 counts of reckless conduct, said Eric Rinehart (D), Lake County’s authorities attorney, who accused him of taking an “unjustified risk” successful signing his son’s weapon ownership exertion successful 2019. Because Robert E. Crimo III was younger than 21 astatine the time, authorities instrumentality required him to person parental consent.

“Parents and guardians are successful the champion presumption to determine whether their teenagers should person a weapon,” Rinehart said. “They are the archetypal enactment of defense.”

The elder Crimo turned himself successful and faces up to 3 years successful jail. His enslaved proceeding is scheduled for Saturday.

In July, a expansive assemblage indicted his lad with 117 felony counts, including first-degree murder. The younger Crimo faces a beingness condemnation successful prison.

The contented of charging parents criminally successful instances of wide killings is apt to beryllium contentious, and an lawyer said the household volition combat the charges.

Illinois State Police successful July said the younger Crimo had astatine slightest two encounters with instrumentality enforcement months earlier helium applied for a weapon permit. In April 2019, helium had attempted suicide, and that September constabulary seized 16 knives, a dagger and a sword from his location aft a household subordinate informed them helium had threatened to “kill everyone.”

George M. Gomez, an lawyer for the elder Crimo, said successful a connection to the Associated Press that the charges were “baseless and unprecedented.”

“This determination should alarm each azygous genitor successful the United States of America who according to the Lake County State’s Attorney knows precisely what is going connected with their 19 twelvemonth aged big children and tin beryllium held criminally liable for actions taken astir 3 years later,” the connection said. “These charges are absurd and we volition combat them each measurement of the way.

The younger Crimo was arrested hours aft the shooting and investigators said helium confessed to the carnage, though helium aboriginal pleaded not guilty. He allegedly fired much than 80 rounds from a semiautomatic limb from a rooftop and past fled the country disguised successful women’s clothing. Officials said helium considered carrying retired another shooting successful Wisconsin successful the pursuing hours.

The victims of the deadly onslaught included a grandfather, a preschool teacher and parents of a toddler.

Rinehart, the Lake County authorities attorney, said radical request to carnivore work for endangering others.

“For excessively long, we’ve allowed weapon unit to destruct lives and neighborhoods. We person allowed a unreality of fearfulness to bent implicit each portion of American life,” helium said.

This is astatine slightest the 2nd lawsuit successful the past twelvemonth erstwhile instrumentality enforcement has sought to clasp accountable the parents of mass-killing suspects. In December 2021, the parents of a teen accused of shooting 4 students astatine a precocious schoolhouse were arrested and charged with involuntary manslaughter successful Michigan.

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