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Waukesha parade suspect Darrell Brooks hit with new charges in previous incident involving his girlfriend

Brooks was charged with felony intimidation of a victim related to a Nov. 2 incident in which his girlfriend was run over with a car.
Darrell Brooks, left, speaks with a lawyer during his initial appearance on Nov. 23, 2021, in Waukesha County Court in Waukesha, Wis.
Darrell Brooks, left, speaks with a lawyer during his initial appearance Nov. 23 in Waukesha County Court in Waukesha, Wis.Mark Hoffman / Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel via AP, Pool

The man accused of plowing into a crowd and killing six people last month at the Waukesha Christmas Parade has been hit with new charges alleging that he intimidated his girlfriend by driving a car over her in a separate incident, according to court documents. 

The man, Darrell Brooks, 39, had been charged with battery and second-degree recklessly endangering safety with domestic abuse assessments in the incident Nov. 2.

He faces new charges of felony intimidation of a victim, felony intimidation of a witness and bail jumping in that case, the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office said in a criminal complaint. 

The district attorney’s office came under fire when it was revealed that Brooks had been out of jail after he posted a low bond of $1,000 related to the domestic abuse case when he is alleged to have rammed through the parade crowd in Waukesha, Wisconsin, on Nov. 21.

He faces six counts of first-degree intentional homicide in connection with the parade tragedy. 

The complaint alleges that in the Nov. 2 incident, Brooks got into an argument with his girlfriend, punched her in the face and drove away, only to return and run her over with his red Ford Escape as she walked to a nearby gas station. 

She dislocated her left femur and fractured her right ankle in the attack, the complaint says.

Brooks called his mother from jail the next day, saying the district attorney’s office needed his girlfriend to cooperate to issue charges, authorities allege. 

"If she don’t cooperate with them, they are going to have to drop it," the complaint says he told her.

He called his girlfriend from jail on Nov. 4 and used “emotional manipulation” to prevent her from cooperating, according to the complaint.

It alleges that he told her, "Why did you do this to me? You know I love you," and even offered to marry her, saying: "I’ve come to the realization that I’m not going to leave you. You have my daughter, I know your potential, what you can be. I want to marry you."

In a second call the same day, he told his girlfriend that he would “die in prison” and that "you have to keep your mouth shut," the complaint claims.

It says he also told her, "Think how bad that would make my momma feel." 

Despite an order from the court commissioner at an initial court appearance on Nov. 5 not to contact his girlfriend, Brooks called her yet again on Nov. 6 and several more times in the following days, investigators said. 

The woman met with the district attorney’s investigators on Nov. 30 and told them that Brooks had called her and made her feel guilty that he had been imprisoned, saying he threatened her safety and security, authorities alleged. 

The complaint says Brooks instructed his girlfriend about what she “needed to say in order to help the defendant,” adding, “The defendant instructed [the girlfriend] to not say anything, to refuse to allow law enforcement access to [the girlfriend's] medical records, and to not cooperate with the prosecution, including by not appearing if required."

Brooks remains in the Waukesha County Jail on $5 million bond.