FOND DU LAC, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — The trial for a man accused in Fond du Lac county court of intentionally and fatally crashing his car into a motorcyclist is set to face trial in a little more than a week.
Daniel Navarro, 29, allegedly killed Phillip Thiessen because Thiessen was white. Navarro is charged with first-degree intentional homicide with a hate crime enhancer.
Navarro has entered pleas of not guilty and not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect.
The victim, Thiessen, was found dead on a town of Taycheedah road on July 3, 2020.
The Fond du Lac County Sheriff’s Office says Navarro hit Thiessen with a truck. Thiessen was not wearing a helmet at the time of the crash.
Prosecutors say Navarro told police he was the target of racism because he is Mexican. Police say Navarro recognized the motorcycle as a Harley-Davidson motorcycle. According to investigators, Navarro said that, in Wisconsin, only white people drive Harleys and that he believes people who drive Harley-Davidson motorcycles are typically “white racists.”
A trial date was confirmed Friday for August 8th.
