Prosecutors asked a Lake County judge on Thursday to allow victims of the Highland Park parade shooting to attend the suspect’s trial even though many might be called as witnesses.
Judge Victoria Rossetti expects to rule on the motion from prosecutors after hearing arguments on Feb. 20, just four days before the trial of Robert Crimo III is scheduled to begin.
Crimo is accused of firing an assault rifle from a rooftop overlooking Highland Park’s 2022 Fourth of July parade, killing seven and wounding dozens more.
Prosecutors plan to call a majority of the 48 people wounded in the shooting, according to the written motion.
Typically, witnesses who are expected to testify at a trial are not allowed to watch any part of it. However, prosecutors said the law allows witnesses to attend a trial they are a part of if the witnesses are crime victims and their testimony will not be affected by hearing other testimony.
None “of the victims the state intends to call will be able to identify the defendant in open court as the one who fired the shots,” prosecutors said in the motion. “They will simply testify as to where they were that day and their experiences before, during, and after the incident. Their testimony about what they did and what they experienced will not be materially affected by hearing other witnesses testify.”
Prosecutors have said they plan to identify Crimo as the shooting suspect based on video surveillance and the testimony of a former school resource officer who knew the suspect.
Prosecutors also asked the judge to allow each victim to bring one “support person” to the trial, which the lawyers said is permitted by law.
During a hearing Thursday, Rossetti said she would also discuss “some issues” with submitted jury questionnaires at the next status hearing.