FDL Man Makes Initial Court Appearance, Bond Set At $1 Million

The suspect in a motor vehicle crash that took the life of a local Fond du Lac man, made his initial court appearance Thursday. Daniel Navarro appeared via video conference in front of Judge Robert J. Wirtz, facing a charge of First-Degree Intentional Homicide-Use of a Weapon-Hate Crime. The charge stems from a Fond du Lac County Sheriff’s Office investigation, following the accident from Friday, July 3rd.  


The accident involved a pickup truck being driven by the 27-year old Navarro and a motorcycle being operated by 55-year old Phillip Thiessen of Fond du Lac. Navarro crossed the centerline and collided with Thiessen, who was not wearing a helmet and was pronounced dead at the scene. 


In a joint press conference with Fond du Lac County Sheriff Ryan Waldschmidt and Fond du Lac County District Attorney Eric Toney following the court appearance, questions were answered in regard to the Hate Crime portion of the charges. In the court documents, Navarro stated recent events and the racial climate in the US contributed to what happened on July 3. Navarro also stated he was thinking about targeting a white person and killing them with a vehicle earlier in the day.


A preliminary hearing has been set for July 17 at 1:30 p.m.