The father of the suspect in the deadly shooting at a Fourth of July parade in suburban Chicago last year wants the judge in the case to drop criminal charges accusing him of helping his son obtain a gun license before the massacre.
Robert Crimo Jr.’s lawyer, George Gomez, told the court during a hearing in Waukegan Monday that his client was charged under a law that is vague and unconstitutional. He said prosecutors charged Crimo Jr. for “innocent conduct” — signing “a wholly truthful” affidavit helping his son, Robert Crimo III, apply for and obtain a gun license.
Legal experts have said charges against parents following mass shootings are rare partially because the cases are difficult to prove.
Crimo Jr. has pleaded not guilty to seven counts of reckless conduct, one for each person killed. Each count carries a maximum three-year prison term. Prosecutors allege the father aided the son in getting a gun license even though he knew the then-19-year-old had previously threatened violence.
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Robert E. Crimo Jr., right, wipes his eye as he listens to Judge George D. Strickland during an appearance at the Lake County Courthouse, Monday, Aug. 7, 2023, in Waukegan, Ill. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh, Pool)
Per state law, “a person commits reckless conduct when he or she, by any means lawful or unlawful, recklessly performs an act or acts that… cause great bodily harm or permanent disability or disfigurement to another person.”
Crimo Jr.’s lawyers argued that the law makes it impossible to know what actions qualify as criminal conduct. It says the law also offers no definition of “cause,” opening the way for prosecutors to link the signing of a gun-license application to a shooting years later.
FILE: Robert Crimo III, 21, seen here in lower image at a July 6, 2022, bond hearing, has been charged with seven counts of first-degree murder after allegedly firing into the crowd at…