Waukesha prosecutors introduced images of the red Ford Escape SUV Christmas parade attack suspect Darrell Brooks Jr. is accused of driving through a throng of revelers last year at trial Wednesday. They show bullet holes from where police tried to stop the attack, victims’ clothing jammed between the crushed hood and windshield, and devastating dents from where the vehicle allegedly slammed into parade goers.
Brooks is on trial for dozens of charges, including six counts of first-degree intentional homicide, after prosecutors say he took the vehicle on a Main Street rampage, driving through the heart of a Christmas parade in the city, just west of Milwaukee, last year.
The photos show extensive damage to the car, including items of victims’ clothing wedged against the windshield, a front bumper that was barely hanging on and bullet holes from where responding officers tried to stop the carnage.
Jurors were shown the vehicle in person Wednesday afternoon at a secure garage within the court complex, according to FOX6 Milwaukee, a move Brooks told Judge Jennifer Dorow he did not “consent” to.
WAUKESHA PARADE SUSPECT DARRELL BROOKS RAGES IN COURT, ATTACKS WITNESSES IN CROSS-EXAMINATION
Extensive front-end damage shown on the red Ford Escape SUV Waukesha Christmas parade suspect Darrell Brooks allegedly used to mow down celebrants last year.
(FOX6 News Milwaukee)
“Your lack of consent is not going to stop this jury view,” she replied.
The proceedings also saw several witnesses take the stand.
Ryan Schultz, a mechanical inspector with Wisconsin State Patrol, testified that despite the vehicle’s extensive damage, there was nothing wrong with the brakes or tires that would have prevented a driver from stopping the SUV, according to a transcript provided by FOX6.
Extensive front-end damage shown on the red Ford Escape SUV Waukesha Christmas parade suspect Darrell Brooks allegedly used to mow down celebrants last year. The bumper appears to have been reattached with elastic cords at some point between the attack and when it was moved to the courthouse.
(FOX6 News Milwaukee)
The throttle pedal and steering system were also fine, he said.
“The brakes still functioned after the crash, fully,” he testified.
PHOTO GALLERY:
Brooks is representing himself at trial and has been reprimanded repeatedly by the judge for interrupting court. In hours of rambling cross-examinations, he has attacked witnesses on the stand and on more than one occasion been sent out of the room.
In a jailhouse interview last year, he told Fox News Digital that the charges against him made him feel “dehumanized” and “demonized.”
An image of the interrogation of Darrell Brooks Jr. following last year’s Waukesha Christmas parade attack.
(FOX6 News Milwaukee)
Chris Johnson, a state crime lab official who responded to the scene, testified that he collected several items from where the SUV had been recovered after the attack. They included a headband hanging from the driver-side mirror and other articles of clothing both insides and outside the vehicle.
Inside, he said, he also found paperworks bearing the name “Darrell E. Brooks.”
Prior to the Waukesha attack, Brooks had a 50-page rap sheet that included charges stemming from multiple attacks on women and other family members. He was released on $1,000 bail just days before the parade after allegedly beating up an ex-girlfriend, breaking her phone and running her over with the same SUV used in the attack.
Wisconsin State Patrol inspector Ryan Schultz testifies during Darrell Brooks’ murder trial.
(FOX6 News Milwaukee)
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His first conviction came after a 1999 aggravated battery with intent to cause great bodily harm.
The six people killed at the parade have been identified as Virginia Sorenson, 79, Jackson Sparks, 8, LeAnna Owen, 71, Tamara Durand, 52, Jane Kulich, 52 and Wilhelm Hospel, 81.
