A judge has ruled that Highland Park shooter Robert Crimo III will remain in jail Wednesday during his trial in Lake County, Illinois.
The state has filed a written request not to bail and says it will seek a sentence of life in prison. Judge Theodore Potkonjak of the Lake County Bond Court ordered Crimo’s detention without bond.
“The judge has ruled that he will be held without bond and there may be reason to keep him at this time on seven counts of first-degree murder,” Lake State Attorney Eric Rinehart said. County told reporters outside Lake County courthouse after the hearing.
“Based on the information the investigation has produced so far, the judge finds that the evidence is of such a magnitude that he will be detained without bond also because of the fact that it is a mandatory life sentence. forced,” he added.
Additional details were developed during Crimo’s bond hearing.
Assistant State Attorney Ben Dillon outlined the events on July 4, saying surveillance video from the scene shows a person running west with a black bag over his shoulder shortly after the shooting. As he was running, an object wrapped in cloth fell onto the pavement. The suspect fled the subject and continued to flee. The object was recovered and identified as a Smith & Wesson M&P15 – an AR-15-style semi-automatic rifle – with a bullet in the chamber, but no magazine was inserted, Dillion said.
Crimo provided investigators with a statement voluntarily confessing to his actions and identifying himself on the stills as the person who was fleeing the scene when the rifle fell out of his pocket, according to Dillon.
Dillon added that Crimo told law enforcement he “looked down his line of sight, aimed and fired” at the marchers and fired two full magazines before placing a third round in a rifle gun. Crimo continued to open fire before fleeing the rooftop, Dillon said. He said, three 30-round magazines and 83 used cartridge cases were recovered.
Crimo also said he dressed as a woman and covered up his tattoos with makeup to avoid recognition, according to prosecutors.
The judge has scheduled the next hearing in Crimo’s case for July 28.
