Robert Crimo III appears in the courtroom, during Monday’s case management session. (AP photo/Nam Y. Huh, pool)

An expected trial date for Robert Crimo III, who is charged with killing seven people and injuring dozens more during the 2022 Highland Park Independence Day parade, will have to wait. At a case management hearing Monday, Sept. 11, Lake County Circuit Court Judge Victoria Rossetti set a Dec. 11 status hearing to complete the discovery stage.

Lake County State’s Attorney Ben Dillon said, “We have put together more than 10,000 pages of documents, photographs, and videos that have all been shared with the defense. Those include the medical records of individuals, Social Security records, and school records. We are awaiting a report from the Federal Bureau of Investigation.”

Rossetti opened the hearing by reading a list of records obtained from Skokie, Highland Park, and Cook County hospitals, as well as Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago. The records pertained to injuries sustained by victims in the July 4 attack.

Crimo III is charged with 21 felony counts of first-degree murder and more 120 felony counts overall. He allegedly planned the attack, expending nearly three 30-round magazines of ammunition from a downtown rooftop, and shooting people gathered to watch a July 4 parade using a semi-automatic weapon.

Crimo III was led in through a side entrance of the courtroom, handcuffed in front, and wearing a Lake County Jail jumpsuit. Long hair pulled to one side, and a gaunt frame, he was seated at the defense table without addressing the court.

Seated behind him in the audience area was his father, Robert Crimo Jr., and his mother. The hearing lasted four minutes, and there was no communication.

Crimo Jr. has also been charged with seven felony counts of reckless conduct, stemming from the shootings, for signing an affidavit to sponsor his son’s firearm owner’s identification card application. An Aug. 28 hearing, at the same courthouse, failed to have his indictments dismissed by defense attorneys.

Three motions related to constitutional free speech of the application’s submission, the “overbroad” wording of the reckless conduct statute, and the statute involving limitations on the filing period for indictments returned on the charges were summarily denied by Lake County Circuit Court Judge George D. Strickland.

The father is slated for a Nov. 6 bench trial date before Strickland. An Oct. 30 status hearing was set to resolve any outstanding motions, and pre-trial filings.

Crimo III has allegedly confessed to the July 4 shootings, when he was apprehended that day.

Both prosecution and defense attorneys agreed that the discovery and disclosure elements of documents and information to be shared with both sides are nearing completion. The Dec. 11 status hearing date could potentially delay a set trial date for Crimo III until 2024.