Mass killer Darrell Brooks is expected to be in a Milwaukee County courtroom Monday for another trial.
This time, he will be made to answer for crimes he allegedly committed just days before the deadly 2021 Waukesha parade tragedy.
Brooks, 42, is charged with intimidation of a victim and intimidation of a witness, both class-G felonies. He also is charged with felony bail jumping.
The charges stem from a Nov. 5 2021 incident during which prosecutors say Brooks threatened, punched and drove over the leg of an ex-girlfriend during an argument at a gas station in Milwaukee.
Sixteen days later, police say Brooks became involved in a “domestic disturbance” and then drove through the Waukesha Christmas Parade route, killing six people and seriously injuring dozens of others.
A jury convicted him in 2022 and sentenced to six life terms in the deaths of Tamara Durand, Wilhelm Hospel, Jane Kulich, Leanna Owen, Virginia Sorenson and Jackson Sparks.
The intimidation case will be heard by Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Michelle A. Havas.
In July, Brooks also pleaded guilty to a gun charge unrelated to the intimidation case and the parade crash.
Havas met on Friday with Brooks, Assistant District Attorney Matthew Torbenson and defense lawyer Russell Jones, and acknowledged seating a jury might be difficult, given the high-profile and notoriety of Brooks’ previous crime.
“That’s going to be the biggest hurdle here,” Havas said.
Havas said a court trial — one in which the lawyers plead their case before only the judge, not a jury — may be an option, if it becomes clear empaneling a jury is too challenging.
Jury selection is expected to get underway Monday at 9 a.m.
More: A history of Waukesha parade suspect Darrell Brooks’ criminal record
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Waukesha parade killer is back in court for victim-intimidation trial
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