Waukesha parade suspect faces dozens of additional charges; preliminary hearing set for Friday

Complaint adds new details about domestic incident moments before parade tragedy

January 12, 2022 4:15 PM

Logan Reigstad,

Posted: January 12, 2022 4:15 PM

Updated: January 12, 2022 10:30 PM

by Logan Reigstad

WAUKESHA, Wis. — The Milwaukee man accused of killing six people and injuring dozens more by driving into a crowd at a Waukesha Christmas parade last year now faces a total of 77 charges stemming from the November 21 incident.

A second amended criminal complaint was filed Wednesday against Darrell Brooks, 39, in the case. According to online court records, Brooks now faces 75 felony charges — including six counts of first-degree intentional homicide — and two misdemeanor charges. Initially, he was charged with five counts of first-degree intentional homicide; a sixth charge was added following the death of 8-year-old Jackson Sparks.

Sixty-one of the new charges are felony counts of first-degree recklessly endangering safety tied to victims who were injured but not killed.

According to the complaint, Brooks allegedly intentionally hit multiple people from eight different groups — including the Dancing Grannies, Waukesha Xtreme Dance team and the Waukesha Blazers baseball team — plus spectators along a five-block stretch of the parade route.

“… Video recordings also depict multiple people and objects being carried for a distance on the hood/windshield of the vehicle at various times after being struck by Brooks’ SUV,” the updated complaint alleges. “At one point, Brooks leaned his head out the window to steer because there was a person on the windshield blocking his vision, however, Brooks does not stop but continues driving.”

A mechanical inspection of the SUV, which Brooks’ ex-girlfriend told police belonged to his mother but that he was living in it, found it was not malfunctioning at the time, the complaint adds.

A court commissioner set Brooks’ bail at $5 million days after the incident.

Complaint outlines domestic incident minutes before parade tragedy

Also included in the complaint are new charges related to domestic incidents involving Brooks and his ex-girlfriend. She reportedly told police she was at Frame Park near the parade’s staging area around 4 p.m. on the day of the parade when she saw Brooks parked nearby. After she got into the SUV, she said Brooks began driving erratically.

“(The victim) stated that Brooks was very upset and angry with her and accused her of talking to other guys on the phone and at one point attempted to take her phone from her,” the complaint reads. “She also stated that he began driving around and while he was driving, she became fearful of his driving because he was driving fast and was only driving with one hand and was striking her in the face with his other hand.”

The woman got out of the SUV at the intersection of Bidwell Avenue and NW Barstow Street — north of downtown — after which Brooks sped away, according to the complaint. As she walked away, Brooks confronted her again near a gas station at the intersection of NW Barstow and North streets, yelling out the window at her.

He allegedly confronted her again just after 4:30 p.m. in front of White Rock School near the parade’s staging area. The complaint said video showed Brooks pushing one of the woman’s friends away in the face before getting in the SUV and driving toward the parade route.

The day before, Brooks and his ex-girlfriend met at Frame Park, where they got into an argument during which Brooks hit her across the face, injuring her eye, according to the complaint.

Brooks had been released days earlier on an “inappropriately low” $1,000 bail in another domestic violence case.

He is set to appear in court for a preliminary hearing Friday morning.

BELOW: Mapping out the key moments in the Waukesha Christmas Parade tragedy