Evidence Was Insufficient To Deny FOID Card To Crimo, State Police Say

HIGHLAND PARK, IL — The state police officer who reviewed a September 2019 "clear and present danger" report filed by Highland Park police determined that there was insufficient evidence to disqualify Robert Crimo III from owning a gun.

Illinois State Police Director Brendan Kelly said there was not enough evidence to establish that Crimo presented a clear danger to himself or others at the time.

And, because there was nothing disqualifying him from gun ownership, state police were required to issue him a Firearm Owners Identification card, or FOID, in December 2019 when he first applied for one at the age of 19, according to Kelly.

Crimo's father signed an affidavit on his son's behalf as part of the application for a FOID card, which remains valid for a decade unless it is revoked.

According to the Sept. 5, 2019, incident report, a witness told police that another person had told them that Crimo, then 18, had "stated that he was going to kill everyone."

The witness had been told that a member of Crimo's household was afraid to return home due to the threat and the collection of knives in his bedroom, according to the report.

Officer Gregory Mendoza said in his report that he and another officer spoke to Crimo and his mother.

"Robert admitted to being depressed on Monday [Sept. 2, 2019,] and having a history of drug use," Mendoza said. "Robert was not forthcoming as to the language that he used on Monday nor was his mother Denise."

Mendoza reported that Crimo was asked if he felt like harming himself or others and said "No."

Crimo's father agreed to turn over a collection of 16 knives in a tin lunch box, a 12-inch dagger and a 24-inch "Samurai type blade" that was being kept in the teen's closet, according to the report.

About five hours later, after Highland Park police had submitted a clear and present danger report to state police, Crimo's father showed up at the station to pick up the property.

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Kelly said the standard for a determination of clear and present danger is a "preponderance of evidence" standard, which means a greater likelihood than not.

The standard is higher for a Firearms Restraining Order, also known as a "red flag" order, which is required to seize weapons from a gun owner. Illinois State Police or other petitioners must meet a higher standard — clear and convincing evidence.

"We've done a very thorough vetting over the past 48 hours looking to every aspect of this, and if you look at the report that was understandably submitted by the Highland Park Police Department in response to the information that they had, and then you look at the law with regards to clear and present danger, what the statute requires and what is that threshold, that did not meet that threshold," Kelly told reporters Wednesday.

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Kelly said there was no other factors that would provide a reason to deny Crimo a FOID card when he applied in December 2019. Crimo went on to pass four background checks as he legally purchased guns in July, July and September of 2020, including two rifles.

"We've vetted it multiple times, 'Would that have met the threshold?'" he said. "The consensus, after that point, being no new developments, no additional arrests, no additional criminal, no new mental health prohibitor, nothing that indicated that the individual had been checked into a mental health facility that requires a new report, no basis for a firearms restraining order have been filed, or an order of protection — all the things that are under the law that would be able to help us stop from issuing a firearms identification card — none of those factors were present at the time."

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