Lake County prosecutors are seeking to introduce Robert Crimo III’s bank records at his upcoming trial to show his purchase of the rifle they say he used to fatally shoot seven people at the 2022 Highland Park July 4 parade.
The request for bank records was filed last week, and it could be discussed at Crimo’s next court hearing. That hearing was scheduled for this week, but is now set for September due to scheduling conflicts.
In the motion, prosecutors claim that the bank documents are relevant evidence that should be included in the trial.
Crimo’s bank statements show he spent $544 to buy a rifle at an online gun dealer on Feb. 7, 2020, and paid a $25 processing fee to pick up the gun later that month at a Lake Villa gun store, prosecutors said. said.
The weapon, Smith & Wesson’s AR-15-style Crimo semi-automatic rifle, was used to indiscriminately spray gunfire into the crowd at the parade in downtown Highland Park, according to authorities.
Fifty people were shot, including the seven who were killed, authorities said.
Crimo had a checking account at a bank in Highland Park, which prosecutors said they obtained through a subpoena. The new motion calls on Judge Victoria Rossetti to rule that the records will be admissible at the trial, which is set for February.
The next court date, scheduled for Sept. 12, will be Crimo’s first courtroom appearance since a June 26 hearing, when prosecutors and his attorneys expected him to accept a negotiated plea deal. However, Crimo declined to accept the plea deal, which led to a life sentence.
He would receive the same sentence if found guilty of the parade murders at trial. The trial against him starts on February 24.
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