Milwaukee man charged in connection to Waukesha parade killing required to stand trial

A Wisconsin court commissioner on Friday ordered that a Milwaukee man charged in connection to a Waukesha, Wis., Christmas parade killing would be required to stand trial, The Associated Press reported.

Waukesha County Court Commissioner Kevin Costello said on Friday at the end of a preliminary hearing that Darrell Brooks Jr., accused of killing six people and injuring dozens more in November after allegedly driving his car through a Christmas parade, said that “ample” evidence had been provided by prosecutors indicating that felonies had probably been committed by the Milwaukee man, the news outlet noted.

An attorney for Brooks claimed in the hearing that he did not intend to hurt anyone and that he could not swerve away from the parade participants given the setup of the barricades around the parade. The attorney, Anna Kees, also claimed that Brooks had been high when the incident occurred and that the smell of marijuana had been caught by officers.

Police detective Thomas Casey was the only witness called by prosecutors. In his testimony, he recounted how Brooks allegedly ran over people participating in the parade, zig-zagging through the street. Brooks had been told by Casey and other officers to stop as the incident took place, Casey testified, according to the AP.

Brooks faces 77 charges in connection with allegedly driving through the November parade. The ages of the six victims who died as a result of the incident range between 8 and 81 years old.

The arraignment for Brooks is set for Feb. 11, the AP noted. If he is convicted on at least one of the homicide charges, he faces mandatory life in prison.