The Wisconsin man accused of fatally plowing his SUV through a crowd at the Waukesha Christmas parade pleaded not guilty to dozens of criminal charges Friday.
Darrell Brooks Jr., 39, is facing 77 charges for the vehicular rampage Nov. 21 that left six people dead and dozens more injured.
Brooks had his head newly shaved and wore a mask in a brief court appearance Friday that lasted less than five minutes. He is being held on $5 million bail.
Police had said Brooks was involved in an unrelated “domestic incident” before the attack.
Around 4:40 p.m. during the parade, a red Ford SUV zoomed past barriers and into the crowd of marchers and parade-goers, killing victims ranging in age from 8 to 81 years old. The dead included several members of a dancing group for older women called the Milwaukee Dancing Grannies. About 61 people were also hurt in the carnage.
Brooks’ lawyer, public defender Anna Kees, had said at a preliminary hearing last month that the accused killer couldn’t turn off the parade route due to barricades. Brooks told cops he didn’t mean to kill anyone, the lawyer said.
Darrell Brooks Jr. appears in Waukesha County court on Friday, Feb. 11. AP
The November 21 rampage in downtown Waukesha left six dead. APBut a police detective testified that officers yelled at the driver to stop as the vehicle rammed multiple people in the crowd, to no avail. Brooks even leaned out his window at one point to get better aim at his victims because a body was on his windshield blocking his view, prosecutors said.
Brooks’ lawyers have filed to change the trial’s venue, but the judge has yet to rule on the motion.
Five days before the parade carnage, Brooks made bail on an arrest for allegedly punching the mother of his child and running over her with a car at a gas station Nov. 2, court documents said.
Darrell Brooks Jr. has pleaded not guilty to 77 charges. AP
Investigators survey the street in the aftermath of Brooks’ alleged rampage. ZUMA24.comThe Milwaukee County prosecutor later admitted his office set “inappropriately low” bail in that case.
With Post wires






