Multiple law enforcement sources have confirmed to "The Dan O'Donnell Show" that the suspect in custody on suspicion of killing five people and injuring more than 40 others at the Waukesha Christmas Parade had just posted bond days earlier and has two open felony cases.
Darrell E. Brooks is a 39-year-old black male from Milwaukee who was charged in Milwaukee County on November 5 with two felonies and three misdemeanors in a domestic violence battery incident in which he also allegedly violently resisted a police officer. He was also charged with bail jumping.
Six days later, he posted bond and was released from custody.
Brooks also has an open felony case from July, 2020 in which he was charged with two counts of recklessly endangering safety through the use of a dangerous weapon and being a felon in possession of a firearm. Bond in that case was originally set at $10,000, but then lowered to $7,500 two weeks later. In February, it was lowered again to $500 and Brooks posted it a month later.
Brooks is a career criminal whose first adult conviction occurred in 1999, when he was just 17 years old. He reached a plea deal in a substantial battery case and was sentenced to two years in prison, but that sentence was stayed and he received three years of probation.
In 2002, he was sentenced to 50 days in jail after he was arrested in a stolen car and charged with drug possession. He pleaded no contest and was ordered to pay restitution to the owner of the stolen car in addition to his jail time. Less than a year later, he pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of resisting or obstructing an officer and sentenced to 20 days in jail.
In 2010, Brooks pleaded guilty to a felony count of strangulation or suffocation in a domestic abuse case and was sentenced to 90 days in jail and three years of probation. A little more than a year later, he violated the terms of his probation when he was arrested for resisting or obstructing an officer and was sentenced to 11 months in jail. He pleaded guilty to the resisting charge and was sentenced to 37 days in jail, which was added on to his 11 month sentence.
While he was awaiting sentencing, though, and out on bail he was arrested for drug possession in November of 2011. Rather amazingly, he was released on $250 signature bond, which means that he did not have to post any money to secure his release from custody. A month later, he was arrested again and again charged with drug possession and bail jumping.
He was sentenced to 180 days in jail.
In July of 2020, he was charged with two counts of second degree recklessly endangering safety and being a felon in possession of a firearm, but because of massive backlogs in the Milwaukee County Circuit Court System due to COVID-19 shutdowns, he has not yet been tried. As a result of this, his bail was lowered to $500 in February and he posted and left custody this past March.
After he was arrested again on November 5, Milwaukee County Court Commissioner Cedric Cornwall set bail at $1,000 even though Brooks was now facing two different felony cases and was charged with bail jumping. Since he also had a prior bail jumping conviction and had also violated the terms of probation, it was highly likely that he would either re-offend while out of custody or skip court proceedings (or both).
Still, he was allowed to post bond on Friday. On Sunday, he allegedly killed five people and injured 40 others.