The Highland Park parade shooter was transported to a state prison on Friday to begin serving his seven consecutive life sentences for killing seven and shooting 48 others.
Lake County Judge Victoria Rossetti on Thursday sentenced Robert Crimo III, 24, of Highwood, to seven consecutive natural life sentences in the Illinois Department of Corrections following a two-day sentencing hearing at the Lake County Courthouse in Waukegan.
Rossetti additionally sentenced Crimo III to 50 years for each attempted murder charge, to be served consecutively to the natural life sentences. He will not be eligible for parole.
The judge said there was “chaos” and “people running for their lives” in a “warzone” when the July 4, 2022, shooting occurred.
Rossetti recalled the evidence in the case, including how Crimo III disguised himself as a woman to commit the shooting, fleeing from the rooftop and then being captured during a traffic stop.
She said Crimo III was interviewed by police where he exhibited a “cavalier” attitude as he admitted to the shooting while describing his actions in detail.
“You have to break a few eggs to make an omelet,” the judge quoted Crimo III as saying to investigators during his police interview.
She called that statement callous and said he has shown a “complete disregard for human life” while terrorizing the community.
Rossetti said she hoped the sentence would bring a sense of justice. The judge also said Crimo III was beyond any point of rehabilitation.
Lake County Public Defender Gregory Ticsay had previously said just prior to the sentence being handed down that Crimo III, who refused to show up for the hearing, did not wish to address the court.
While Rossetti was reading the 50-year sentences for the attempted murder counts, she abruptly paused and the court went into recess.
A deputy passed a note to the judge informing her that Crimo III wished to come to court.
Lake County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Chief Christopher Covelli said Crimo III informed correctional staff in the Lake County Jail that he changed his mind and wanted to be in court for the hearing.
Rossetti resumed the hearing approximately 50 minutes later but Crimo III remained absent from the courtroom.
Lake County Assistant Public Defender Anton Trizna informed the court that Crimo III had an issue with the jail staff taking his religious books.
Trizna said the jail would be returning the defendant’s Quran and another religious book following the “misunderstanding.”
“That was the issue with the holdup. It did not have anything to do with the sentencing this morning and Mr. Crimo did reiterate that he affirmatively did not wish to attend the sentencing this morning,” Trizna said.
Covelli said that after Crimo III informed jail staff he wished to appear in court, he again changed his mind and did not want to ultimately be transported to court. He was returned to his cell.
The judge finished reading off the remaining sentences for the attempted murder charges and then read an admonishment regarding Crimo III’s right to file an appeal. The admonishment was also delivered in writing to Crimo III in the jail.
Covelli told Lake and McHenry County Scanner that Crimo III was transferred to a state prison by the Lake County Jail corrections team on Friday morning.
Covelli said the correctional officers did a “terrific job” getting him transferred quickly to the “place he will spend the rest of his life” as he also credited the Lake County Circuit Clerk’s Office for quickly processing all of the post-conviction paperwork.
Lake County State’s Attorney Eric Rinehart recalled in court prior to the sentence being handed down how the lives of Katie Goldstein, Irina McCarthy, Kevin McCarthy, Stephen Strauss, Jackie Sundeim, Nicolas Toledo-Zaragoza and Eduardo Uvaldo were lost in the shooting.
Rinehart described the mass shooting as an “ocean of damage” and questioned how one person could want to hurt so many. “He was arrogant, merciless…” Rinehart said.
“In the middle of a beautiful day celebrating America, 83 shots rang out in 40 seconds that would change everything. 83 attempts to hurt people, 83 attempts to terrorize a community, 83 attempts to kill. 83 attempts to reduce the light of the world. This was his evil plan: to end the happiness he saw around him,” the state’s attorney said.
Numerous survivors and law enforcement officers took the witness stand during the first day of the hearing, revealing new details on the July 4, 2022, parade shooting in downtown Highland Park.
Now-retired Highland Park Police Commander Gerald Cameron Jr. said thousands of people lined the parade route for the Independence Day parade as a band performed.
Cameron described hearing the gunshots and responding toward the scene. He said people had sought shelter in businesses and “they were horrified.”
Video was played in court showing the band marching as shots were fired and people fled.
“I was panicked,” Highland Park mother Dana Ruder Ring testified, saying that she had been hit by shrapnel in the right foot while fleeing the scene.
She also said that she and her husband helped a toddler to safety as Crimo III opened fire.
The toddler’s parents, Kevin and Irina McCarthy, were later learned to have been fatally shot in the incident.
Dr. Jeremy Smiley, who works for Endeavor Health, said he traded shifts so he could attend the Fourth of July parade in Highland Park as he does every year with his family.
Smiley said he heard what he thought were firecrackers but were actually gunshots.
He described his father as being in a daze and he questioned whether he should go back for his father or keep pushing forward to safety with his children. Smiley said, “It was scary for me.”
Smiley also said that he ended up going to the hospital to help treat the shooting victims.
He said that he cared for Cooper Roberts, who was eight at the time and was left paralyzed when a bullet severed his spinal cord.
Smiley said he thinks about Cooper every day as he recalled his initial feeling of walking in and seeing the critically injured boy.
Prosecutors played video from the interrogation of Crimo III and his confession after Highland Park Police Officer Brian Bodden, who was a detective at the time of the shooting, took the stand.
Bodden participated in the interview with Crimo III and said the suspect had told him he was trying to aim at the adults, not children. Crimo III said he was specifically aiming for the chest and up.
Crimo III told detectives he watched the crowd of people keep running into each other after he started shooting. He also said that big groups were trying to run away from the shooting but were unknowingly running toward him.
Crimo III was able to describe the first victim whom he shot and where exactly he first began shooting.
The suspect mentioned the terms “sleepwalker” and “zombie” during the interrogation.
Bodden said Crimo III had written songs making reference to those terms just before the shooting.
Crimo III told investigators he had planned the mass shooting for a couple of years and rode on his e-bike to scout the area. He had taken photos of the area and had previously been on the rooftop where he fired the shots.
Crimo III said that he watched the police department and even timed officer response times to other calls.
Leah Sundheim read a victim impact statement to the court on behalf of her father, whose wife, Jacki Sundheim, was killed in the shooting.
“For many of us, the pain and sorrow of our loss is still fresh, visceral, and at times too much to bear,” Bruce Sundheim said in the statement.
“You murdered my soulmate, my wife of 33 years, and the mother of my only child,” he said, describing his wife as a “wonderful person” and a “loving wife.”
Many other survivors and family members of victims took the stand to read victim impact statements after Sundheim.
“This sentencing marks a solemn but important moment for the Highland Park community. While no punishment can erase the pain or bring back the lives stolen from us, today’s outcome offers a measure of closure for families, survivors, and a city forever altered by senseless violence,” Illinois State Representative Bob Morgan said.
“I am deeply grateful to Lake County State’s Attorney Eric Rinehart and his team for their tireless work securing this sentence. In addition, I extend my continued thanks to the first responders, mental health professionals, and community leaders who have stood by our neighbors over the past three years,” Morgan said.
Crimo III pleaded guilty on March 3 to all 69 charges — 21 counts of first-degree murder and 48 counts of attempted murder. The surprise plea came as Crimo III’s trial entered its fourth day.
Crimo III opened fire on parade-goers near Second Street and Central Avenue in Highland Park.
Prosecutors 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 48 others were shot. 83 spent shell casings were recovered at the scene.