WAUKEGAN (WBBM NEWSRADIO) - Accused Highland Park parade shooter Robert Crimo III rejected a potential plea deal in court in a surprise move this morning.
Crimo quietly said no to a deal that would have had him plead guilty to 55 charges, including seven first degree murder charges, and spend the rest of his life in prison.
That decision was made in front of a courtroom full of relatives of victims and survivors of the parade shooting.
Ashbey Beasley was at the parade and told WBBM she’s angry, frustrated, sad and heartbroken for all of the families who came out.
Prosecutor Ben Dillon told Judge Victoria Rossetti that attorneys had discussed an agreement requiring Crimo to plead guilty to seven counts of first-degree murder and 48 counts of aggravated battery with a firearm. He would be imprisoned for life and ineligible for release on the murder counts.
As family members of people killed and others wounded in the mass shooting watched, Rossetti asked Crimo if the agreement described was what he discussed with his attorneys. Crimo remained silent before looking back at his parents seated in a front-row bench.
Defense attorneys Greg Ticsay and Anton Trizna briefly spoke with Crimo at the defense table before Rossetti suggested they go back into a private room. When they returned, the judge asked Crimo whether he wanted to go forward.
“No,” he responded.
Many in the full courtroom had hoped to give statements in court Wednesday and were left baffled by the abrupt change. One man held up a middle finger to Crimo’s parents as they exited the courtroom ahead of a private meeting that prosecutors held with victims.
The criminal case has proceeded slowly for months. At one point, Crimo insisted he wanted to fire his public defenders and represent himself. He abruptly reversed that decision weeks later.
Wednesday’s hearing was announced last week, though he was not scheduled to return to court until August. Crimo sat in a wheelchair during Wednesday's hearing, a change from prior appearances where he walked into and out of the room with deputies.
Christopher Covelli, deputy chief with the Lake County Sheriff’s Office, said Crimo “informed our correctional staff this morning that he was nervous and unsure if he’d be able to walk in and out of the courtroom. For that reason, he was placed in a wheelchair for his movements.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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