Darrell Brooks Jr., the suspect in the deadly Christmas parade attack in Waukesha, Wisconsin, last year, changed his plea to “not guilty by mental disease or defect,” records show.
An attorney for Brooks, 40, said during a court appearance Monday that his client would make the shift from a prior “not guilty” plea and that Brooks was ordered to undergo a mental health evaluation, according to Waukesha County court records reported by Fox News.
Wisconsin law requires a judge or jury to determine if the defendant was mentally responsible for his conduct at the time of the offense if the defendant is found guilty but pleaded not guilty by mental disease or defect, according to the Associated Press. The defendant could then be committed to a mental health facility instead of prison.
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During his court appearance Monday, Brooks was denied by a judge a change of venue to move his trial out of Waukesha County or to bring in jurors from an outside county. His defense attorneys had argued their client could not receive a fair trial in the county.
Judge Jennifer Dorow referenced the trial of Kyle Rittenhouse, in which jurors were not sequestered but were instructed not to discuss the case when they left the courtroom, and said the court will refer to how it runs its proceedings “as the Kenosha way.”
Brooks is accused of plowing his SUV into paradegoers on Nov. 21 of last year, killing six and injuring more than 60. The victims killed in the attack were identified as Jackson Sparks, 8, Tamara Durand, 52, Jane Kulich, 52, LeAnna Owen, 71, Virginia Sorenson, 79, and Wilhelm Hospel, 81.
In February, Brooks pleaded not guilty to the 77 charges he faces, including six counts of first-degree intentional homicide, 61 counts of first-degree recklessly endangering safety, six counts of hit-and-run resulting in death, two counts of felony bail jumping, and two counts of misdemeanor battery.
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Brooks’s trial is scheduled for October and is expected to last a month.
