Father of alleged Highland Park parade shooter bonds out of jail on reckless conduct charges

The father of the accused Highland Park parade shooter was released from the Lake County Jail Saturday on a $50,000 bond after being charged with reckless conduct for allegedly helping his son obtain weapons ahead of the July 4 attack that left seven dead and dozens wounded.

Robert Crimo Jr. looked somber and tired as he made his first appearance before a judge since surrendering to police Friday. He faces seven felony counts in connection with sponsoring his son Robert Crimo III’s application for a state firearm owner’s identification card two years before the mass shooting.

In a 10-minute hearing conducted via video link, Lake County Judge Jacquelyn Melius said she accepted an agreement between the elder Crimo’s lawyer and prosecutors that bond be set at $50,000 with the condition that he turn in any gun licenses, as well as any weapons at his home.

Crimo’s lawyer told the judge earlier that his client posed no threat to anyone, had no criminal record and had close ties to the community of Highland Park. Prosecutors did not oppose his release on bond.

Crimo Jr. was out of jail by late Saturday morning, records show. He’s due back in court Jan. 12.

In 2019, when his son was underage and unable to do so on his own, Crimo Jr. signed off on his son’s application for a FOID card, which Crimo III received in early 2020 — despite previously having threatened to kill himself and his family. Crimo III was then able to legally purchase the weapons authorities say he unleashed in Highland Park. 

Lake County State’s Attorney Eric Rinehart called the father’s sponsorship “a reckless and unjustified risk” while announcing charges Friday.

“Parents and guardians are in the best position to decide whether their teenagers should have a weapon,” Rinehart said. “In this case, the system failed when Robert Crimo Jr. sponsored his son. He knew what he knew and he signed the form anyway.”

Defense attorney George M. Gomez said Friday that his client “continues to sympathize and feel terrible for the individuals and families who were injured and lost loved ones,” but blasted the charges as “politically motivated and a distraction from the real change that needs to happen in this country.”

“This decision should alarm every single parent in the United States of America who according to the Lake County State’s Attorney knows exactly what is going on with their 19 year old adult children and can be held criminally liable for actions taken nearly three years later,” Gomez said in a written statement.

Crimo III remains jailed without bond on a litany of murder, attempted murder and battery charges.

Crimo Jr. has shown up at several pretrial hearings for his son this year, nodding in greeting when his son entered the courtroom shackled and flanked by guards. In media interviews after the shooting, he has said he did not believe he did anything wrong in helping his son obtain a FOID card.

Contributing: Associated Press