On Wednesday, Robert Crimo III turned down a plea agreement that would have avoided a drawn-out jury trial.
The defendant in the Highland Park Fourth of July parade shooting, who fired into a crowd in 2022, killing seven people and injuring several more, dropped out of a plea agreement that would have spared survivors the agony of having to testify in court.
In August 2022, 23-year-old Robert Crimo III entered a not guilty plea to 21 charges of first-degree murder, 48 counts of attempted murder, and 48 counts of aggravated violence. According to internet data, he has stayed imprisoned in the Lake County Jail ever since.
Prosecutors from Lake County offered to drop the remaining charges against Crimo if he had entered a guilty plea to a reduced seven counts of first-degree murder and 48 counts of aggravated violence with a handgun.
