WAUKESHA, Wis. — Proceedings resumed Wednesday in the case of Darrell Brooks, the man accused of driving through the Waukesha Christmas parade, killing six and injuring dozens.
The state quickly ran through a handful of witnesses in the morning who were called to verify surveillance video they provided to investigators.
The state next called Waukesha Police Officer Kyle Becker, who canvassed a neighborhood for evidence after the SUV drove through the parade. His search began from the house where the car had been abandoned. He testified he recovered a navy blue sandal, and not long after, a grey sweatshirt.
"I located, in that platform area, the grey hooded sweatshirt that had a multicolored design, the same sweatshirt we believe Mr. Brooks was wearing during the parade incident," said Becker.
Just before noon, bailiffs escorted the jury to a sally port at the county jail where they viewed the damaged red SUV. The judge, prosecutors, and defendant Darrell Brooks were present. Media were not allowed to attend the viewing, but the jail provided a video of what the jurors saw.
After lunch, the state called Wisconsin State Patrolman Ryan Schultz. He inspects vehicles after crashes and testified the red SUV had no problem with its brakes after it was damaged.
"All four brakes were in good working shape and able to be locked at the time of inspection," said Schultz.
The state also called a DNA analyst from the Wisconsin Crime Lab and a team leader from the lab's Crime Scene Response Unit, which responded to Waukesha the night of the parade.
Brooks, once again, cross-examined the state's witnesses at length. He also continued to interrupt the judge and made comments, sometimes under his breath, during direct examination by the state.
"When the court overruled one of Mr. Brooks' objections, his response was 'stop trying to be slick,'" said Lesli Boese, Deputy District Attorney. "Just for the record, I thought that was very disrespectful."
The state fell just short of resting its case on Wednesday night. The judge will rule in the morning on a state motion to have a police detective return for further testimony.
Still, Judge Dorow told Brooks to prepare to make his opening statement for his defense to begin on Thursday.
LATEST UPDATES FROM DARRELL BROOKS TRIAL: WEDNESDAY, OCT. 19
2:55 p.m. update:
Darrell Brooks filed an affidavit this morning challenging the court's jurisdiction:
#DarrellBrooks filed an affidavit this morning challenging the court's jurisdiction. Tbh, I don't have time to comb through it now. Leaving here for those interested, especially all you #SovereignCitizen wonks out there. There's also a second page on "Mandatory Judicial Notice." pic.twitter.com/tOBGDq4GwE
— Bruce Harrison (@HarrisonMKE) October 19, 2022
2:10 p.m. update:
Detective Rowe is going over the map with the state. It's the path of the vehicle (solid red line) after it exited the parade and the path of the suspect on foot (dashed line) after the fleeing vehicle. The dashed line eventually ends at the home of Daniel Rider, where Brooks was eventually arrested.
Brooks now on cross with Det. Rowe. State overruled many of his questions, calling them argumentative. He's definitely a bit salty, asking questions like: "Shouldn't you be paying attention to the questions being asked?"
Brooks wraps cross. No redirect. State calling another witness. Ryan Schultz, Wisconsin State Patrol, takes the stand. He inspects vehicles that have been involved in crashes.
1:25 p.m. update:
The state called the next witness, Waukesha Police Det. Justin Rowe. He canvassed a neighborhood, looking for possible items discovered by a suspect fleeing on foot. Like the previous witness, he also helped recover the suspect's navy blue sandals and a grey sweatshirt.
1 p.m. update:
The judge says both parties had a walk-around of the SUV before the jury entered the garage. Brooks, she says, was not wearing any restraints she could see while the jury was present. Seems like it went without incident. Here's the video they shared with media:
11:20 a.m. update:
Becker said he believes it was the sweatshirt Mr. Brooks was wearing when he's accused of driving a car through the Christmas Parade. The sweatshirt was apparently tossed into a playhouse. He also found a second navy blue sandal in the playhouse.
11:07 a.m. update:
Waukesha Police Officer Kyle Becker is now on the stand. He searched the neighborhood on the evening of the parade. He set out from a home where the red SUV was located. Later he found a navy blue sandal with a Brewers emblem, about 200 yards from SUV. He also found a grey hooded sweatshirt.
11:05 a.m. update:
Next witness is Leonard Miller, who says he saw someone walking up his driveway on security camera video on the evening of the parade. He called police and officers collected video. Miller is simply here to verify the time and collection of video.
Miller also told the state he saw a SWAT team in his front yard. Brooks asked for details about the SWAT in Miller's yard. He's moved on to his typical line of questioning: "would you say that the state is a human being?" State objects. Sustained.
11 a.m. update:
The state has called its second witness of the day, Robert Stone. He lives in Waukesha. He had security cameras on his home the day of Waukesha Christmas Parade.
Video was quickly admitted into evidence. According to Stone, it shows his backyard, garage and vehicles. The state wraps and Brooks is now on cross. Stone appears to be here to verify the video.
9:30 a.m. update:
The state called its first witness, Steven Scholmann, an IT director at Waukesha School District.
9 a.m. update:
Judge Dorow explained how the viewing of the SUV will work, and asked Brooks if he would like to attend. Brooks' response: "For the record, I'm not a person, I'm a human being. And no I do not consent to be present at a jury view."
Dorow said the jurors will see the SUV in jail sally port. The word "jail" will be covered to avoid any kind of bias. There will be a recording of the trip, and the media is not allowed to attend.
It's unclear when we'll get to see the video.
8:55 a.m. update:
Brooks expressed concerns about COVID-19, saying the jury should be tested. However, Judge Dorow said she will not mandate testing, as she trusts them to determine if they're able to sit through the proceedings.
Brooks said they should test now to prevent anything in the future.
We are now moving on to regular proceedings.
8:40 a.m. update:
Before getting to testimony, Judge Dorow brought the jury in to go over COVID-19 concerns. A juror was released earlier this week due to the same concern.
After discussions with the jury, the court came to the conclusion that a panel of 12 and three alternatives will continue to serve.
Judge Dorow said the courtroom has a great HVAC system and they have brought in extra purifies.
RECAP OF COURT PROCEEDINGS FROM TUESDAY, OCT. 18
Tuesday's proceedings began with the state calling back Waukesha Police Detective Jay Carpenter. He interrogated Brooks for hours the day after the parade attack. During the interrogation, he showed Brooks photos of the SUV and asked Brooks to watch videos of the SUV hitting victims. Brooks refused to look.
Brooks repeatedly told detectives he'd cooperate with their questions if they told him what charges he was facing. However, at that time, the charges were still developing.
Brooks was removed from the courtroom Tuesday for interrupting the state's cross-examination of his own first witness. He accused Judge Dorow of making up laws as she goes through the proceedings.
"He was muttering under his breath, clearly showing disrespect for the court and the proceedings. In my opinion, they're baseless objections," said Judge Dorow on the choice to toss Brooks from the courtroom. "[Aim] is to disrupt these proceedings, disrupt the testimony of the witnesses."
The state had allowed Brooks to call a witness before the state had rested its case due to the availability of an interpreter for the witness.
