Highland Park police were called to the family home of the suspected Independence Day parade sniper at least nine times between 2010 and 2014 in response to domestic disputes, according to newly released police records.
Most of the incidents involved alleged verbal or physical altercations between the shooting suspect’s parents, Robert Crimo Jr. and Denise Pessina. Reports released by the Highland Park Police Department paint a picture of the sometimes tumultuous home where Robert “Bobby” Crimo III grew up before he shot and killed dozens of people enjoying a Fourth of July parade. Seven of those shot died, and Bobby Crimo has been charged with seven counts of first-degree murder.
During an argument in August 2010, Crimo Jr. told police that his relationship with Pessina was “failing” and that Pessina had hit him in the head with her shoe and was intoxicated. Pessina told police that Crimo Jr. “disrespected and belittled” her after making comments about her appearance and that those comments drove her to drink. Police said they offered Pessina a domestic violence information packet, but she reported she already had a packet from another domestic incident days earlier.
Attempts by reporters to reach the accused’s parents for comment personally and through their attorney were unsuccessful, and neither Pessina nor Crimo Jr. has been charged with domestic violence in Lake County, according to court records.
A painting apparently depicting a man holding a rifle is seen on the back of the Highland Park home of the mother of the alleged shooter on July 7, 2022, three days after the mass shooting at the Highland Park Fourth of July parade. (Brian Casella/Chicago Tribune)
But the parents of Robert Crimo III have drawn attention in recent days after it was revealed that the shooting suspect’s father sponsored the FOID card application that allowed Crimo to legally purchase the gun he allegedly used to terrorizes Highland Park holiday goers.
A review of public records shows multiple Highland Park police involvements at the Crimeaux home over the years, particularly between the mother and father. Crimo Jr., the former owner of the now-shuttered Highland Park deli, ran unsuccessfully for mayor in 2019.
In October 2010, police were called to the home for a fight between Pessina and Crimo Jr. According to the police report, Crimo Jr. said Pessina “trash-talked” him, knocked all of his belongings out of his dresser and hit him with a screwdriver. Pessina, in a statement to police, said Crimo Jr. “made mean statements to me like he always does, calling me names.” Crimo Jr. later told police that Pessina did not try to hit him with the screwdriver and declined to mention that detail in his statement to police.
On two occasions, Crimo Jr. and Pessina called the police about attempted drunken driving that escalated. In June 2011, Crimo Jr. called police, alleging that Pessina was trying to drive to pick up her daughter while intoxicated, and that after being confronted about it, she blocked Crimo Jr. from leaving. In November 2013, Pessina called the police alleging Crimo Jr. was trying to drive to work while intoxicated.
Pessina pleaded guilty to drunken driving in Lake County in 2012. In 2002, Pessina pleaded guilty to child endangerment charges after leaving Crimo III, then about 2 years old, alone in a car with windows for 27 minutes in a toy store parking lot, according to court records. It was approximately 79 degrees outside at the time of this incident.
In September 2019, several months before Crimo III applied for a gun permit, police conducted a well-being check following a report that days earlier Crimo III had “made a threat at the household”, saying he was “going to kill everyone “. The police report noted that a person, whose identity was redacted in the report, said they were “afraid to go home” because of the threat and Crimo’s knife collection.
Police recovered the knives from Crimo’s possession and filed a “Clear and Present Danger” report with the Illinois State Police.
A car with the number “47” painted on the door is parked outside the Highwood home of the alleged shooter and his father on July 7, 2022, three days after the mass shooting at the Highland Park Fourth of July parade. (Brian Casella/Chicago Tribune)
Crimo Jr. told the New York Post and ABC News that he was not responsible for the attack, despite his role in sponsoring his son’s gun permit application, because he said he was following the law.
“You know, he went through the legal process. I don’t know if it’s a fault. I feel terrible about what happened. More than terrible,” Crimo Jr. told ABC News.
Illinois State Police Director Brendan Kelly declined to comment Wednesday on whether Crimo’s father could be charged.
[ Highland Park police ‘clear and present danger’ warning insufficient to keep alleged parade shooter from purchasing rifle, state police say ]
Steve Greenberg, an attorney who briefly represented the defendant’s parents, told the Tribune that Crimo Jr. was unaware of the 2019 threats when he sponsored his son’s FOID card application months later. At the very least, Crimo Jr. knew police had confiscated guns that were in his son’s room, according to the police report. The father later recovered the weapons from police, including a 24-inch samurai sword, 16 knives and a dagger.
In April 2019, Highland Park police again became involved with a shooting suspect after the department received a call requesting a welfare check on the then 18-year-old. Crimo III reportedly attempted suicide with a machete. Medical professionals were involved, according to the police report.
A neighbor of the family, who declined to be named, told a Tribune reporter Thursday that police would come to the Highland Park home seemingly every week that the alleged shooter’s parents lived there together.
A reporter saw a woman on the front porch of the home Thursday, but no one answered the door. Grass grew wild in the front lawn. Vinyl decals in the style of faux stained glass decorated the windows, behind which white curtains were drawn. In the backyard, a ghostly picture appeared on the faded reddish-brown brick: a tall figure holding a long rifle, dressed in military camouflage with a yellow smiley face instead of a head. It’s a black smile and dripping eyes.
The neighbor told the Tribune that on the day of the shooting, they saw Crimo III drive away from the house in his mother’s silver Honda Fit as they returned from the suspended Independence Day parade.
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Crimo III is not believed to have stayed at the Highland Park home with his mother, but rather lived in an apartment on the property of his father’s house in Highwood, according to his uncle, Paul Crimo.
Crimo, 55, said the massacre shocked him and that he didn’t know his nephew had a gun when he pulled into his driveway. “I am sorry from the bottom of my heart. I’m devastated,” Crimo said.
Paul Crimmo, uncle of alleged shooter Bobby Crimmo, outside his home in Highwood on July 7, 2022, three days after the mass shooting at the Highland Park Fourth of July parade. (Brian Casella/Chicago Tribune)
“He lives in the apartment next door. We didn’t see each other,” he said, referring to another structure on the lot. “He didn’t show any aggression towards me or anything. sometime. No indication of anything that I’ve seen.
A logo that the mass shooter used in violent music videos and social media posts was nailed to the door of the shack next to the house. The logo looked almost identical to that of Suomen Sisu, a far-right, nationalist Finnish political association, but the Southern Poverty Law Center, which reviewed Crimo’s online filing, said earlier this week that its meaning, if any, remained unclear.
A silver Acura coupe sat on the lawn in front of the home, weeds growing around its tires. A red smile with sharp teeth was plastered on the front bumper and the number ’47’ was painted on the doors. Paul Crimmo said the car belonged to his nephew.
A neighbor of Crimo III, who declined to give their name, said the father occasionally exchanged pleasantries, but his son did not interact with the people who lived nearby. The 21-year-old alleged mass shooter often rode his electric scooter, they added, and wore all black and played raucous, loud music.
Madeline Buckley of the Chicago Tribune contributed.
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