Possible change of plea in July 4 Highland Park shooting, Lake County state’s attorney’s office says

The Highwood man accused of killing seven people and injuring dozens more during Highland Park’s 2022 Independence Day parade may change his plea next week, a spokeswoman from the Lake County state’s attorney’s office confirmed late Thursday.

The spokeswoman wrote via email that “a possible change of plea” may occur during the Wednesday, June 26, hearing before Lake County Judge Victoria Rossetti.

Victims’ families and survivors are aware of the possible plea change, according to the spokeswoman who provided no other details.

The defendant, Robert Crimo III, has pleaded not guilty.

He is charged with opening fire from a downtown Highland Park rooftop about 10:15 a.m. July 4, 2022, killing Highland Park residents Katherine Goldstein, 64; Stephen Straus, 88; Jacquelyn “Jacki” Sundheim, 63 and Kevin McCarthy, 37, and his wife Irina McCarthy, 35. Nicolas Toledo-Zaragoza, 78, of Morelos, Mexico and Eduardo Uvaldo, 69, of Waukegan were also killed in the attack. Nearly 50 people, ranging in age from 8 to 88, were wounded.

If convicted of two or more counts of first-degree murder, the defendant — who remains incarcerated in the Lake County jail — faces mandatory life in prison.