Darrell Brooks Jr. is accused of killing six people and injuring dozens at the 2021 Waukesha Christmas Parade that took place on Nov. 21, 2021. Brooks allegedly drove an SUV through the entirety of the parade route, striking many people on foot along the way.
His jury trial, in which he plans to represent himself, began Monday, Oct. 3. Read about what has happened in the trial so far with our updates here.
A jury of 10 men and six women has been selected for the trial (12 in jury, four alternates). Trial testimony began Thursday, Oct. 6. Court is typically in session from about 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays.
The prosecution’s witnesses will continue to take the stand Monday, Oct. 17. Preliminary matters will be discussed starting at 8:30 a.m. and the jury will enter for the prosecution’s witness testimony afterward.
Monday afternoon livestream:
LIVE COURT CAM: After lunch break Day 8 of WI v. Darrell E. Brooks. Brooks is representing himself at trial. Brooks is facing 77 charges, including 6 counts of first-degree intentional homicide for allegedly driving his SUV through a crowded Christmas Parade in Waukesha, WI.
Monday morning livestream:
LIVE COURT CAM: Day 8 of WI v. Darrell E. Brooks. Brooks is representing himself at trial. Brooks is facing 77 charges, including 6 counts of first-degree intentional homicide for allegedly driving his SUV through a crowded Christmas Parade in Waukesha, WI.
(Note: Court TV is breaking the trial into morning and afternoon livestreaming sessions. The afternoon session will be updated on this page as soon as it’s available. If you don’t see the current session, you may need to refresh your browser.)
We have a reporter in the courtroom providing live updates.
3:49 p.m.: While the jury is still out of the room before testimony continues Monday afternoon, D.A. Sue Opper estimates the state will be through their witnesses at some point on Wednesday. Defense testimony could begin Wednesday or Thursday morning.
3:32 p.m.: During the afternoon of the 11th day of the trial of Waukesha Christmas Parade suspect Darrell Brooks, two police officers testified as to their involvement in the arrest of the man accused of driving his SUV through the parade route.
Big Bend Police Officer Rebecca Carpenter said she drove to Waukesha after hearing officers were putting people into squad cars for transport to get medical attention. After arriving at the scene and determining her vehicle would be inadequate to get injured persons to the hospital, Carpenter responded to the 500 block of Elizabeth Street on a report of a man going door-to-door seeking to use a phone. There, her body cam showed, she encountered Brooks on the porch of a residence.
Resident Daniel Rider testified earlier Monday that he gave Brooks a coat to wear, a sandwich and let him use his phone.
Waukesha Police Officer Garrett Luling also testified. He testified he was on a perimeter set-up near Wood and West Avenue when he heard reports about the man going door-to-door. After driving to the end of Elizabeth Street, he turned around and saw officers detaining a suspect at Rider’s home; inside his pocket were a key to a Ford and debit or credit cards.
Brooks told officers at the scene his name, which matched that found on documents in a vehicle parked on Maple Avenue. Brooks told police first that he was in the area with a friend. When asked why he was not wearing shoes, he said he’d left his flip flops inside Rider’s home, but Rider previously testified Brooks had left nothing inside the residence.
2:42 p.m.: Following the testimony of Rebecca Carpenter, officer Garrett Luling takes the stand. Luling was assigned to the parade and also responded to Elizabeth Street where police had arrested and were detaining Brooks on the night of the parade.
1:45 p.m.: Kicking off the afternoon is testimony from Big Bend police officer Rebecca Carpenter, who detained Brooks on Elizabeth Street in Waukesha following the Christmas parade.
12:15 p.m.: Being from small-town Prairie du Chien where he said people seek help frequently, Daniel Rider thought nothing of it when a man came to his door last Nov. 21, wearing no shoes and without a coat, and said he was homeless and needed to hail an Uber.
Daniel Rider, the Waukesha resident whose Ring doorbell camera captured the moments leading up to the arrest Darrell Brooks, testifies during Darrell Brooks trial in Waukesha County Circuit Court in Waukesha, Wis., on Monday, Oct. 17, 2022.
He invited the man, Darrell Brooks Jr., into his house, gave him a coat to wear and his phone to use and had him sit on his couch while he gave him a sandwich.
“I do remember him saying multiple times they were homeless and cold so I took initiative to try to help in anyway I could at the moment,” Rider testified.
A few minutes later as police began driving on his street, Rider asked Brooks to wait outside, where a video doorbell recorded Brooks’ initial approach, and Rider following him out.
Rider testified Brooks left his porch but returned, asking to come inside to see if he left his ID behind. Rider told him to wait outside, and while Rider was looking in his house for it — Brooks had left nothing there, Rider testified — police spotted Brooks on Rider’s porch and arrested him.
On cross-examination Rider also revealed he sold the video clips from his Ring doorbell camera to news media who asked for it — getting a little money on the backend after working with an agent, he said — and donated a lot of the money from it toward victims.
Testimony will continue after the lunch break at about 1:40 p.m.
Daniel Rider, the Waukesha resident whose Ring doorbell camera captured the moments leading up to the arrest Darrell Brooks, plays a voice mail from Brook’s mother as he testifies during Darrell Brooks trial in Waukesha County Circuit Court in Waukesha, Wis., on Monday, Oct. 17, 2022.
10:50 a.m.: After a mid-morning break, the state calls Anthony Winters to the witness stand. He drives for rideshare app company Lyft.
Anthony Winters, a Lyft driver, testifies during Darrell Brooks trial in Waukesha County Circuit Court in Waukesha, Wis., on Monday, Oct. 17, 2022.
10:38 a.m.: Three witnesses testified in the trial of Darrell Brooks on Monday that Brooks approached them to use a phone to call an Uber. One of them, Erin Cordes, says she allowed Brooks to use his phone when they encountered him without a coat or shoes after the Christmas Parade. She said he called his mother and asked her repeatedly to send an Uber, asking them the address where they were on Elizabeth Street.
9:55 a.m.: The state has called Erin Cordes to the witness stand, who was in attendance at the parade. Cordes testified that after the vehicle drove through the parade, she left with her family to seek safety. They were parked at Aries Industries nearby. She testified that as they walked to their car, they encountered a person she identified as Darrell Brooks. Brooks asked the family if he could use their phone.
She testified that he said, “I’m not going to hurt you, I just want to use your phone.”
Cordes then gave Brooks her phone. She testified that he used the phone to call his mom and ask for an Uber.
Erin Cordes, who encountered Darrell Brooks after the parade and let him use her cell phone, testifies during Brooks trial in Waukesha County Circuit Court in Waukesha, Wis., on Monday, Oct. 17, 2022.
9:16 a.m.: Next on the stand is another Waukesha resident Domanic Caproon, who encountered Darrell Brooks, wearing no jacket or shoes, shortly before 5 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 21, 2021. Brooks walked up Caproon’s driveway and asked to use his phone to call an Uber.
Domanic Caproon, a Waukesha resident who lent Darrell Brooks his phone after the Waukesha Christmas Parade, testifies during Darrell Brooks trial in Waukesha County Circuit Court in Waukesha, Wis., on Monday, Oct. 17, 2022.
8:58 a.m.
Witness Sean Backler, a Waukesha resident who found Darrell Brooks trespassing on his property after the Waukesha Christmas Parade, testifies during Brooks trial in Waukesha County Circuit Court in Waukesha, Wis., on Monday, Oct. 17, 2022.
8:53 a.m.
Darrell Brooks stands up and shows witness Sean Backler, a Waukesha resident who found Brooks trespassing on his property after the Waukesha Christmas Parade, his size and weight, during his trial in Waukesha County Circuit Court in Waukesha, Wis., on Monday, Oct. 17, 2022.
8:46 a.m.
Darrell Brooks removes his mask to be identified by Waukesha resident Shawn Backler, a witness, during Brooks’ trial in Waukesha County Circuit Court.
8:42 a.m.: Waukesha resident Shawn Backler, who found Brooks in his backyard on the night of Nov. 21, 2021, after the parade, is on the witness stand first today.
8:39 a.m.
Waukesha County Circuit Court Judge Jennifer Dorow addresses Darrell Brooks during his trial in Waukesha County Circuit Court in Waukesha, Wis., on Monday, Oct. 17, 2022.
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