Robert Crimo III, accused in the deadly Highland Park July 4th parade shooting, will be allowed to once again make telephone calls from jail, but exclusively to his parents, as updated by a Lake County judge. On Thursday, during an arraignment, Judge Victoria Rossetti issued a ruling that grants him this limited communication, a decision that comes ahead of his scheduled trial on February 24. This follows multiple instances of revoked privileges over his two-year incarceration period, a restriction triggered by past actions including sharing a prosecutor’s private details and making a prank call to a journalist, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.
In previous occurrences, Crimo has been accused of attempting to shape public opinion by claiming acts were perpetrated by federal agents during recorded jail calls—one such claim shared as recently as September 2023. Yet the restoration of his phone rights, according to Judge Rossetti, was prompted by the lack of incidents during approved holiday calls to his parents, as per information gleaned by NBC Chicago. The decision to limit contact only to his parents has been made amidst prosecutors’ continued objections to granting Crimo any form of telecommunication privileges.
The court did not accommodate all requests on Crimo’s behalf. His assistant public defender, Gregory Ticsay’s plea for Crimo to be able to reach out to an unnamed former neighbor and friend was denied. With the looming trial a short seven weeks away, the legal defense and prosecutors have been asked to arrive at the next court date, set for February 6, prepared to address matters concerning jury questionnaires, highlighting the next phase of pre-trial preparations…