Authorities have identified the man suspected of driving his car through a holiday parade on Sunday in Waukesha, Wisconsin, as a rapper and had an ongoing domestic violence case before the incident that killed five people and injured dozens of others.
The individual, identified as Darrell Brooks Jr., was out of custody after prosecutors recommended an "inappropriately low" bail in the case, said the Milwaukee County District Attorney's Office on Monday. Police expect to refer five counts of first-degree intentional homicide and additional charges to prosecutors.
Milwaukee Holiday Parade Crash
Brooks Jr. could face up to life in prison if convicted of first-degree intentional homicide in the case. In less than two years, the driver was also charged three times with recklessly endangering the safety of others. The most recent incident was when he was accused of running a woman over with his vehicle in Milwaukee.
During a Monday afternoon news conference, Waukesha Police Chief Dan Thompson confirmed Brooks Jr.'s identity as the driver in the holiday parade incident. He said that investigators discovered the suspect was involved in a previous "domestic disturbance" before driving into the parade route, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported.
Police later arrested the suspect, an amateur rapper who goes by the alias "MathBoi Fly," and said he acted alone while confirming that it was not a "terrorist event." Brooks Jr. was revealed to have an extensive criminal record, and his latest cases were being charged with resisting or obstructing an officer, recklessly endangering safety, disorderly conduct, bail jumping, and battery.
In July of last year, the suspect was also charged with reckless endangering and illegal firearm possession. Authorities found the damaged SUV that was used in the Waukesha holiday parade crash parked in his driveway after the incident.
Extensive Criminal Record
The suspect's red SUV could be seen in several music videos that he uploaded showing himself performing in front of the vehicle. "We have information that the suspect prior to the incident was involved in a domestic disturbance which was just minutes prior and the suspect left that scene just prior to our arrival to that domestic disturbance," said Thompson, 7News reported.
Additionally, Brooks Jr. has an active arrest warrant in Nevada for failure to obey sex offender laws, said the Washoe County Sheriff's Office. In 2006, the suspect was convicted of having consensual sex with a 15-year-old and conceiving a child with her. Authorities sentenced him to probation but arrested him for failure to follow sex offender laws in 2016. Later, Brooks Jr. jumped bail and did not appear in court.
The Washoe Regional Sex Offender Notification Unit has an active arrest warrant for Brooks Jr. and said they believed he was in Wisconsin as recently as last month. However, they did not have confirmation of his exact whereabouts.
In a statement, Waukesha District Attorney Susan L. Opper said that Brooks Jr.'s bail should be set so high that he won't be able to get out of jail before trial. On Monday, the official said that Wisconsin does not have "held without bail" but said she expects to ask for high cash bail, significant cash bail to keep the suspect in custody, Fox News reported.
