Prosecutors are seeking to admit Robert Crimo’s bank records at trial to show he purchased the AR-15 style rifle used in the Highland Park mass shooting that killed seven and wounded 48 people.
The Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office filed a motion last week seeking to admit bank records from Highland Park Bank and Trust.
Those records include new account paperwork and address change forms containing the name, date of birth, addresses, email address, phone number, bank account number and debit card numbers for Robert Crimo III, 23, of Highwood.
The records also contain the monthly checking account statement of Crimo’s bank account for January 2020 through February 2020 reflecting purchases made on his account.
The statement shows a purchase from Buds Gun Shop in the amount of $544.69 on February 10, 2020, which prosecutors said was the Smith & Wesson M&P 15 semi-automatic rifle used in the July 4, 2022, shooting in Highland Park.
Prosecutors said the statement also shows a purchase of $25 from Red Dot Arms in Lake Villa on February 12, 2020. That charge was a processing fee that Crimo paid to pick up the firearm.
In June, Crimo III appeared at the Lake County Courthouse in a wheelchair for a change of plea hearing in front of Lake County Judge Victoria Rossetti.
He was charged in July 2022 with 21 counts of first-degree murder, 48 counts of attempted murder and 48 counts of aggravated battery with a firearm.
Prosecutors announced in court that Crimo III would be pleading guilty to 55 charges in total.
Those charges included seven counts of first-degree murder — one for each victim killed — as well as 48 counts of aggravated battery with a firearm — representing each victim injured — as part of the negotiated plea agreement.
Prosecutors said the plea meant that Crimo III would be sentenced to mandatory natural life in the Illinois Department of Corrections and would not be eligible for supervised release.
Rossetti asked Crimo III to confirm that the negotiation was what he went over with his attorneys prior to the hearing.
Crimo III stared at the judge and did not speak. Crimo’s two attorneys then leaned over and both spoke to him quietly.
One of his public defenders, Gregory Ticsay, told Rossetti that they had spoken to Crimo III previously about the plea.
Ticsay said he did not have a reason for Crimo’s lack of response to the judge’s question.
The judge called a recess and Crimo III and his attorneys went into a private area to speak together.
When the attorneys and Crimo III returned, Crimo III told Rossetti that he did not wish to enter into the plea agreement.
The man is accused of opening fire on paradegoers attending the Fourth of July parade near Second Street and Central Avenue in Highland Park on July 4, 2022.
Prosecutors previously said Crimo III admitted to “looking down his sights” of his Smith & Wesson M&P 15 semi-automatic rifle before opening fire on the Highland Park crowd.
Crimo III told investigators he fired two full 30-round magazines before loading a third 30-round magazine and firing.
Seven people were killed and dozens of others were shot. 83 spent shell casings were recovered at the scene.
Crimo III has been held in the Lake County Jail without bond since July 6, 2022.
He was scheduled to appear in court again for a case management hearing on August 28. That hearing was stricken from the court calendar due to attorney scheduling conflicts.
Crimo III is now scheduled to appear in court again on September 12. A trial is set for February 24.