Highland Park Parade Shooting Trial: Jury Selection Almost Done for Robert E. Crimo III's Trial

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WAUKEGAN, Ill. (WLS) — The jury is nearly selected in the trial of Robert Crimo III.

Crimo is accused of planning and carrying out the 2022 Highland Park Fourth of July parade shooting, killing seven people and injuring nearly 50 others with an assault weapon fired from a rooftop.

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Seven jurors were selected on Monday, however one was excused Tuesday morning.

Shortly after dismissing one, another juror was seated.

Four more were selected Tuesday.

Twelve jurors must be selected, plus six alternates.

As of Tuesday afternoon, six men and five women were on the jury.

Several said they enjoy playing video games.

Crimo showed up to court on Tuesday wearing a black track suit and Nikes, unlike the suit and tie from Monday.

The now-24-year-old had his head down for the first hour and only became alert when a 19-year-old juror was being questioned about video games and heavy metal music.

LIVE Updates: Jury selection continues for 2nd day in trial for alleged Highland Park shooter

He, like most potential jurors, said he believes he can be fair and impartial.

But, a veteran jury consultant is skeptical.

“I don’t think people are capable of realizing the unconscious biases they have a lot of times. We call it the sleeper effect, where jurors don’t really remember everything that they heard about it at the time, but as they hear more evidence, it triggers memories People believe they can put it aside, but they have unconscious biases,” Dave Zehner said.

Zehner said jury selection is moving quickly for a trial of this magnitude.

“A lot of times the selections for cases like this take weeks, and they go through hundreds of jurors. They’re moving through this at a very fast rate, and they probably will have a jury by the end of the week, which is almost unheard of for a prosecution like this,” he said.

Jury selection for Tuesday wrapped up about 4:30 p.m.

It will continue Wednesday morning.

Crimo did not return to court after lunch. He did the same on Monday.

His father, Robert Crimo Jr., who was in court alone Tuesday, said his son “was bored.”

He also left the courtroom Tuesday morning and returned later in the afternoon.

Crimo III was initially charged with 21 counts of first-degree murder – three counts for each person killed – as well as 48 counts of attempted murder and 48 counts of aggravated battery.

On Monday, Lake County prosecutors sought to drop the 47 less serious aggravated battery counts in an apparent effort to streamline the case.

The Lake County state’s attorney’s office declined to comment.

Crimo Jr. pleaded guilty in 2023 to seven misdemeanor counts of reckless conduct. The charges focused on how his son obtained a gun license.

He said in a statement: “If my trial proceeded, a majority of Bobby’s evidence would’ve come to light to the public, thus compromising my son’s ability to receive a fair trial. It’s a sacrifice I was willing to make for my son.”

Prosecutors said nearly all of the 48 survivors from that day plan to testify. The trial is expected to last three to five weeks.

Judge Victoria Rossetti has told jurors the trial will begin at 9 a.m. Monday morning.