Parade rampage driver has lengthy criminal record; tried to run over a woman 3 weeks ago, police say

WAUKESHA, Wis. (WBAY) - As Waukesha investigators continue their investigation into the rampage at Sunday’s Christmas Parade, where five people died and nearly 50 were injured, the question of why it happened is still not answered.

Police have referred five charges of first degree intentional homicide to the district attorney against the man they say was driving, 39-year old Darrell Brooks of Milwaukee.

Brooks is expected to appear in court on the new charges for the first time Tuesday afternoon.

Action 2 News has learned Brooks has been familiar with the criminal justice system for his entire adult life, having been charged in more than a dozen criminal cases over the last 22 years.

Monday afternoon, Waukesha Police announced during a news conference that Brooks was involved in a domestic dispute moments before plowing into the Christmas parade.

They said Brooks and another person were involved in a domestic disturbance and that the parade tragedy happened so quickly after it they hadn’t even had time to respond to the domestic dispute.

“The subject was taken into custody a short distance from the scene, and we are confident he acted alone. There is no evidence this is a terrorist incident,” Waukesha Police Chief Dan Thompson said.

The 39-year old Brooks, also known as MathBoi Fly in a music video on YouTube, seen rapping in front of what appears to be the same vehicle as the one driven into the parade Sunday night, also appears to be very familiar with the court system.

Less than three weeks ago, according to online court records, Brooks was charged with second degree recklessly endangering safety, obstructing an officer, felony bail jumping, and domestic violence related-disorderly conduct and battery.

Police said he ran the mother of his child over with his vehicle November second, according to our partner station in Milwaukee.

Brooks was released last Tuesday on a $1,000 bond, which prosecutors had requested, but Monday, the day after the tragedy, the Milwaukee County District Attorney released a statement saying his office is now conducting an internal review and called the amount “inappropriately low.”

In July of 2020, a judge ordered a $10,000 bond for Brooks in another case involving recklessly endangering safety and felon in possession of a firearm charges.

In February of 2021, while still in custody, Brooks demanded a speedy trial, but the DA’s office said another trial was already going in the same court, so a judge adjourned his case and reduced his bail to $500, which he immediately posted.

Criminal cases for Brooks began when he was 17 years old, in 1999, when he was charged with substantial battery.

In that case, Brooks was sentenced to two years in prison, but a judge stayed that sentence, meaning he didn’t have to go to prison as long as he followed the courts’ rules.

That was revoked in 2003, and online records show he was sent to a Wisconsin prison.

We also found Brooks was convicted of drug possession and obstructing an officer, stemming from charges in Milwaukee County in 2002, 2003 and 2011.

He was charged with strangulation and suffocation in Wood County, where, upon conviction, the courts wrote ‘counseling was deemed necessary.’

We also found obstructing an officer and operating while suspended cases in Manitowoc County dating back to 2005.

In a hearing last week for a paternity case involving Brooks, court records show he claimed he couldn’t pay child support because he had been incarcerated in Georgia for six months for another crime, but the crime was not identified.

Brooks was also was listed on the state of Nevada’s sex offender website related to a 2006 conviction for statutory sexual seduction.

In many of his Wisconsin court cases, he was ordered to serve time, ranging from a few days to no longer than 180 days, in the Milwaukee County House of Corrections.

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