CHICAGO — A judge on Saturday set bond at $50,000 for the father of an Illinois man charged with killing seven people at a July 4 parade who is accused of helping his son get a gun license years before the shooting on a suburban Chicago main street.
Robert Crimo Jr., 58, looked somber and tired in his first appearance before a judge since voluntarily surrendering to police Friday. His lawyer, George M. Gomez, told the judge Saturday that the father of three would be able to pay the required bond amount for his release.
Crimo, a rare case of a parent charged after a child is accused in a mass shooting, faces seven felony counts of reckless conduct — one count for each person fatally shot during the summertime parade. Each count carries a maximum six-year prison term.
This image provided by the Lake County Sheriff's Office in Waukegan, Ill., shows Robert Crimo Jr., on Friday, Dec. 16, 2022, after turning himself in. Crimo Jr.,, the father of an Illinois man charged with killing seven people in a mass shooting at a July 4 parade in a Chicago suburb has been charged with seven felony counts of reckless conduct, prosecutors announced Friday.
At a brief 10-minute hearing, conducted via video link, Lake County Judge Jacquelyn Melius said she accepted an agreement between Crimo's lawyer and prosecutors that bond be set at $50,000, which was lower than the $500,000 bond that could have been imposed.
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Gomez told the judge before she set bond that his client had been a business owner for over 30 years and had lifelong ties to the community of Highland Park, where the mass shooting occurred over the summer. Prosecutors did not oppose Crimo's release on bond.
"Mr. Crimo is not a danger to the community. He is not a flight risk," Gomez said, adding that Crimo had cooperated fully with authorities since the shooting.
Among the conditions of his release, the judge told Crimo, was that he turn in any gun licenses, as well as any weapons at his home, within 24 hours of the hearing. Crimo currently lives in Highwood, a city that borders Highland Park.
Asked by the judge if he could hear the proceedings through his video link, Crimo said that he could — but he otherwise made no statements to the court.
Judge Melius set his next hearing for Jan. 12.
Lake County State's Attorney Eric Rinehart said Friday that charges against the father were based on Crimo sponsoring his son's application for a gun license in December 2019. His son was 19 years old at the time.
"Parents and guardians are in the best position to decide whether their teenagers should have a weapon," Rinehart said. "In this case, the system failed when Robert Crimo Jr. sponsored his son. He knew what he knew and he signed the form anyway."
Authorities have previously said the accused shooter, Robert Crimo III, attempted suicide by machete in April 2019 and in September 2019 was accused by a family member of making threats to "kill everyone."
Those reports came months before Crimo Jr. sponsored his son's application.
Gomez, the Chicago-area attorney, called the charges against the father "baseless and unprecedented" in a written statement on Friday.
"This decision should alarm every single parent in the United States of America who according to the Lake County State's Attorney knows exactly what is going on with their 19 year old adult children and can be held criminally liable for actions taken nearly three years later," Gomez said.
Gomez said his client "continues to sympathize and feel terrible for the individuals and families who were injured and lost loved ones." But the attorney called the charges "politically motivated and a distraction from the real change that needs to happen in this country."
A grand jury in July indicted Robert Crimo III on 21 first-degree murder counts, 48 counts of attempted murder and 48 counts of aggravated battery, representing the seven people killed and dozens wounded in the attack on a beloved holiday event in Highland Park.
Legal experts have said it's rare for an accused shooter's parent or guardian to face charges — in part because it's difficult to prove such charges.
In one notable exception, a Michigan prosecutor last year filed involuntary manslaughter charges against the parents of a teen accused of fatally shooting four students at his high school. A January trial date in that case has been delayed while the state appeals court considers an appeal by the parents.
Authorities have previously said that Illinois State Police reviewed Crimo III's December 2019 gun license application and found no reason to deny it because he had no arrests, no criminal record, no serious mental health problems, no orders of protection and no other behavior that would disqualify him.
But following the parade shooting, public records showed that Crimo III attempted suicide by machete in April 2019, according to a police report obtained by The Associated Press that noted a "history of attempts."
In September 2019, police received a report from a family member that Crimo III had a collection of knives and had threatened to "kill everyone."
Both Crimo III and his mother disputed the threat of violence at the time. Police have said father Robert Crimo Jr. later told investigators the knives belonged to him, and authorities returned them.
Robert Crimo Jr. has shown up at several pretrial hearings for his son this year, nodding in greeting when his son entered the courtroom shackled and flanked by guards. The father has been a familiar face around Highland Park, where he was once a mayoral candidate and was well known for operating convenience stores.
In media interviews after the shooting, Robert Crimo Jr. had said he did not expect to face charges and did not believe he did anything wrong by helping his son get a gun license through the state's established process.
The suspected gunman spent weeks planning a mass shooting at an Independence Day parade in Highland Park, Ill., and dressed as a woman to avoid being identified, police said Tuesday.
Victims of Highland Park shooting remembered for kindness, warmth
Irina and Kevin McCarthy, 35 and 37
Irina and Kevin McCarthy, who were killed in the shooting, are the parents of a toddler who was found alive, according to a family member.
Irina Colon, who was related to Irina McCarthy, shared an undated photo with CNN of the couple at their wedding in Chicago.
Colon said she was not at the parade and found out about the couple's death from Irina McCarthy's father. The couple's 2-year-old son, Aiden, will now be cared for by family members, Colon said.
A verified GoFundMe campaign that Colon began said that in the aftermath of the violence, the young child was taken to safety by community members before his grandparents were located.
"At two years old, Aiden is left in the unthinkable position; to grow up without his parents," the campaign said. "Aiden will be cared for by his loving family and he will have a long road ahead to heal, find stability, and ultimately navigate life as an orphan. He is surrounded by a community of friends and extended family that will embrace him with love, and any means available to ensure he has everything he needs as he grows."
"On behalf of his family, and with their permission, I am establishing this fundraiser to support him and the caregivers who will be tasked with raising, caring for, and supporting Aiden as he and his support system embark on this unexpected journey," it added.
The GoFundMe page had raised more than $820,000 by Tuesday evening.
Jacki Sundheim, 63
Jacki Sundheim was also identified by her synagogue as one of the people killed.
The North Shore Congregation Israel in Glencoe said in a statement Sundheim was a lifelong congregant and a member of the staff, having been a preschool teacher and events coordinator.
"There are no words sufficient to express the depth of our grief for Jacki's death and sympathy for her family and loved ones," the statement said. "We know you join us in the deepest prayer that Jacki's soul will be bound up in the shelter of God's wings and her family will somehow find comfort and consolation amidst this boundless grief."
Nicolas Toledo, 78
Father of eight and grandfather to many, Nicolas Toledo had been visiting his family in Highland Park from Mexico and was identified as a victim in Monday's shooting, an official from the state of Morelos told CNN.
Mexican officials issued a press release identifying Toledo as Nicolas "N," a customary practice in Mexico where authorities use "N" for any last name in official documents, under a law for human rights and protection of privacy of victims.
Toledo loved fishing, painting and going on walks with his family in the park, one of his granddaughters, Kimberly Rangel, told CNN affiliate WBBM.
Toledo's family set up a GoFundMe page to raise money to repatriate him to Mexico.
"What was suppose(d) to be a fun family day turned into a horrific nightmare for us all," the organizer of the GoFundMe and another granddaughter, Xochil Toledo wrote. "As a family we are broken, and numb."
She described her grandfather as a "loving man" who was "creative, adventurous and funny."
Six of Toledo's eight children live in the United States, according to the statement from Mexican authorities. One was injured in the shooting alongside two other members of the Toledo family.
Stephen Straus
Stephen Straus, the 88-year-old man identified by authorities as one of the victims, was full of life, his grandsons said.
"He was very active, he enjoyed life," Maxwell Straus, 18, told CNN. "He attended music festivals, loved to get outside, and biked into his 80s."
He said his grandfather had recently mentioned he was going to the parade and was "very excited."
When news about the shooting surfaced, Maxwell's father grew very worried after Stephen Straus did not pick up the phone. A few hours later, the hospital called to confirm his death.
"It was shocking, hard to imagine," Maxwell Straus said.
Tobias Straus, 20, told CNN that hearing the news of his grandfather's death was "the worst thing imaginable to happen."
"He had a lot of life left in him, he was not ready to go by any means," Tobias Straus said. "This just doesn't happen in other places, and I have no doubt that if America had better gun control my grandfather would be alive."
"The gun lobby and America's cultural worship of guns is deadly. It kills grandfathers," he added.
Straus' grandsons told CNN they had a close relationship with their grandfather and would see him almost every Sunday -- for the usual family dinner.
Another man fighting for his life
Eduardo Uvaldo, a 69-year-old man who was shot, was off life support and fighting for his life at Evanston Hospital, his daughter told CNN on Tuesday.
"Doctors said there's nothing they can do," Karina Uvaldo-Mendez said, but added her father was still breathing on his own. "We need everyone to keep us in their prayers."
Uvaldo was shot in the arm and then the back of the head, according to a verified GoFundMe campaign. His wife and grandson also sustained injuries, Uvaldo-Mendez said.
Uvaldo-Mendez told CNN that her mother got struck with bullet fragments on her forehead and hand and added that while she was physically doing OK, "emotionally, she's distraught."
Eduardo Uvaldo and his wife celebrated 50 years of marriage a few months ago, his daughter said, adding, "his four daughters and my mom were his everything."
Uvaldo-Mendez described her father as hard-working: From time to time he liked to remind his daughters that he worked for 30 years and never missed a single day, she said.
He tended to avoid parades because he doesn't like crowds, she said -- but he did like the one at Highland Park and it was the only one he attended annually.
He will turn 70 on Friday, his daughter said.
Another facility, Highland Park Hospital, received 26 patients, said Dr. Brigham Temple, the medical director of the NorthShore University Health System.
The patients ranged in age from 8 years old to 85 years old, and four or five were children, Temple said.
Barbara Medina, 46, was also injured -- not by gunfire, but by the stampede as people fled the area in an effort to escape the chaos.
Medina was marching in the parade when she heard gunshots, she told CNN. A sea of people rushed toward her, so she dropped a banner she was holding, grabbed her 7-year-old daughter and her scooter and ran. She was separated from her 12-year-old son and her father.
At one point, Medina tripped on her scooter and fell on her left arm. It wasn't until hours later -- and after she made it to safety with her daughter and learned her son and father were also safe -- that Medina went to a medical facility and was diagnosed with a broken proximal radius.
"I'm just grateful that we're all safe," she said. "It'll be a long healing process."
Katherine Goldstein, 64
Katherine Goldstein, 64, was at the parade with her daughter Cassie, Katherine's husband Craig Goldstein, told CNN Wednesday.
"Cassie looked up at the rooftop and saw the man with the gun," Craig said. "She said, 'Mom, we have to run,' and they ran. They were running side by side when a bullet entered Katie's chest."
Cassie called Craig to tell him about the shooting and he rushed to the parade with his other daughter, wanting to help. She remained on the move as they spoke by phone.
"I could hear Cassie in the background and she was screaming, 'Mom is dead! Don't come!' She was afraid for us," he said. "It seemed unreal but I didn't want to leave Cassie by herself. I wanted to find Cassie."
Cassie saw her mother fall to the ground but got the chance to tell her "I love you" one last time before she closed her eyes, Craig said, but then a stranger grabbed her and told her she had to keep running.
He described Katherine as a kind, selfless and funny person who was devoted to her family and spent her evenings playing games with her daughters.
"I could not imagine a better mother," he said. "She loved to go bird watching. In the spring, she was out every morning with her binoculars."
Katherine is survived by her two daughters and husband.
Eduardo Uvaldo
Eduardo Uvaldo, 69, initially survived being shot and was on life support fighting for his life at Evanston Hospital, but passed away Wednesday morning, his daughter Karina Uvaldo-Mendez told CNN.
"Doctors said there's nothing they can do," Uvaldo-Mendez said, but added her father was still breathing on his own until Wednesday morning.
Uvaldo was shot in the arm and then the back of the head, according to a verified GoFundMe campaign. His wife and grandson also sustained injuries, Uvaldo-Mendez said.
Uvaldo-Mendez told CNN that her mother got struck with bullet fragments on her forehead and hand, and added that while she was physically doing OK, "emotionally, she's distraught."
Eduardo Uvaldo and his wife celebrated 50 years of marriage a few months ago, his daughter said, adding, "his four daughters and my mom were his everything."
Uvaldo-Mendez described her father as hard-working: From time to time he liked to remind his daughters that he worked for 30 years and never missed a single day, she said.
He tended to avoid parades because he doesn't like crowds, she said -- but he did like the one at Highland Park and it was the only one he attended annually.
He would have turned 70 on Friday, his daughter said.
