Waukesha Christmas parade: No record of Darrell Brooks' bail hearing from prior incident
A digital recording of the key hearing when Darrell Brooks' was sprung on $1,000 bail prior to the parade tragedy was damaged, a court official says
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}WAUKESHA, Wis. — Waukesha suspect Darrell Brooks was released on $1,000 bail for allegedly running over an ex-girlfriend with his car just two weeks before the deadly Christmas parade rampage. The court record of that critical bail hearing is lost forever.
In Wisconsin every official court proceeding is memorialized either by a court reporter or a digital recording device. But the transcript of the hearing is permanently gone, an official told Fox News on Tuesday.
Waukesha parade suspect Darrell Brooks arrives in court for his arraignment.
"The digital recording is damaged," she said when an attempt was made to order the Nov. 5 transcript.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Career criminal Brooks, 39, allegedly mowed down the mother of one his children with a red Ford Escape Nov. 2 — leaving a tire mark on her left leg, authorities have said.
Five adult victims killed in the Waukesha parade attack. A sixth victim, this one a child, was announced in court Nov. 23.
Despite the serious charges and another pending felony case for shooting at his nephew during a fight in July 2020, a junior prosecutor recommended $1,000 cash bail for Brooks. His mother promptly posted the sum.
WAUKESHA CHRISTMAS PARADE SUSPECT DARRELL BROOKS RECEIVED $1,000 BAIL DESPITE RED-FLAG RATING
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}About two weeks later, on Nov. 21, Brooks drove the same red Ford Escape into holiday revelers, killing six and injuring 60, authorities say.
After the horrific incident, Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm announced an internal investigation into the widely panned decision to request the paltry bail amount.
Mug shots of Darrell Brooks from various arrests over the years. (Waukesha Police/Associated Press)
"The state’s bail recommendation in this case was inappropriately low in light of the nature of the recent charges and the pending charges against Mr. Brooks," Chisholm said in a statement.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The DA, a self-described "progressive," has championed reforms aimed at reducing cash bail and incarceration rates.
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Brooks is locked up at the Waukesha County Jail on $5 million bond and faces six counts of intentional homicide and other charges.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The career criminal, with a rap sheet stretching back to 1999, has become a poster child for the failures of liberal criminal justice reforms.