(Kenosha County Sheriff’s Office)
KENOSHA COUNTY, Wis. — A Kenosha County man currently facing a felony fifth-offense drunken driving charge has a criminal history spanning decades and two states that includes prison time and allegations involving aggravated domestic battery, fourth-degree sexual assault, false imprisonment, victim intimidation, reckless endangerment with a dangerous weapon, threats to kill women, repeated violations of protection orders, bail jumping, and multiple drunken driving offenses. Court records from Wisconsin and Illinois show Richard A. Brandes has repeatedly faced allegations of violent behavior involving women while also compiling a lengthy history of alcohol-related offenses. Prosecutors in multiple jurisdictions have alleged Brandes assaulted intimate partners, violated court orders, intimidated victims, and continued committing crimes while already out on bond in other cases.
(Lake County, Ill Sheriff’s Office)
Brandes, 51, of Silver Lake, is currently scheduled to return to court on June 4 before Judge Jason Rossell in Kenosha County for a status conference in an open felony OWI case stemming from a March 2024 traffic stop in Salem Lakes. According to the criminal complaint, a Kenosha County sheriff’s deputy observed Brandes driving at a speed estimated around 60 miles per hour in a 35 mile-per-hour zone before accelerating up to 75 miles per hour to catch up with the vehicle. Prosecutors ultimately charged Brandes with operating while intoxicated as a fifth or sixth offense, a felony offense that carries mandatory prison exposure under Wisconsin law.
The 2024 criminal complaint details four prior countable OWI-related offenses spanning Illinois, Nevada, and Wisconsin dating back more than two decades. According to prosecutors, Brandes accumulated prior alcohol-related convictions or offenses connected to arrests in McHenry County, Illinois, Las Vegas, Nevada, another Illinois case in 2008, and a 2009 Kenosha County OWI case. The complaint identifies the Kenosha County case as a third-offense drunken driving prosecution that resulted from a May 1, 2009 traffic stop.
That 2009 Wisconsin OWI case alleged Brandes was operating a vehicle while intoxicated and while his operating privileges were revoked because of prior alcohol-related offenses. According to the complaint, deputies observed signs of impairment including slurred speech, bloodshot eyes, poor balance, and a strong odor of intoxicants. Police reported Brandes later provided a breath sample registering .11. Court records show he was charged with third-offense OWI, operating with a prohibited alcohol concentration, and operating after revocation tied to an alcohol-related suspension.
But the criminal history outlined in the records extends far beyond alcohol-related offenses. In late 2009, Kenosha County prosecutors filed a sweeping domestic abuse case against Brandes that included allegations of false imprisonment, fourth-degree sexual assault, victim intimidation, battery, criminal damage to property, reckless endangerment with a dangerous weapon, and threats to injure. Court records show prosecutors accused Brandes of restraining a woman against her will, threatening her, assaulting her, and endangering her safety during incidents in Bristol. One of the charges specifically alleged second-degree reckless endangerment while using a dangerous weapon, while another accused Brandes of threatening injury during a domestic abuse incident.
The records show Brandes later picked up additional criminal charges while already out on bond in the Wisconsin domestic violence and OWI cases. In 2010, prosecutors charged him with bail jumping after Twin Lakes police allegedly encountered him intoxicated at a Camp Lake boat launch despite bond conditions prohibiting alcohol consumption. According to the complaint, an officer observed an open beer bottle near Brandes and noted he appeared “highly intoxicated” with slurred speech and bloodshot eyes. Prosecutors alleged the incident violated bond conditions in both the pending domestic abuse case and the pending OWI prosecution.
Years later, Brandes became the subject of a widely publicized CBS Chicago investigative report involving another woman, Amelia DeLoach, who publicly described what she characterized as repeated violent abuse. The 2016 report included surveillance video from Whiskey Jane’s bar in Antioch that allegedly showed Brandes throwing DeLoach onto a bar, pool table, and floor before dragging and assaulting her behind the bar. According to CBS Chicago, the video allegedly showed Brandes violently shaking DeLoach and slamming her to the ground while other patrons were nearby. DeLoach told the television station she feared Brandes would eventually kill her.
“I was scared for my life,” DeLoach told CBS Chicago. “If you ever leave me, I will kill you,” she said Brandes warned her during the relationship. The report stated DeLoach initially refused to cooperate with prosecutors because she was afraid of him, prompting authorities to rely heavily on surveillance video and other evidence. Lake County prosecutors told CBS Chicago that victim fear and reluctance to cooperate are common in domestic violence prosecutions and said authorities attempted to continue pursuing charges despite those obstacles.
Lake County, Illinois court records show Brandes was indicted for aggravated domestic battery after prosecutors alleged he caused “great bodily harm” to Amelia DeLoach by striking her about the body. Another felony case accused Brandes of repeatedly violating an order of protection by allegedly communicating with DeLoach through third parties, including his mother and another associate, despite court orders prohibiting contact. The charging documents also referenced Brandes’ prior domestic battery conviction history while outlining the allegations.
The investigative reports generated by the Lake County Sheriff’s Office painted an even more disturbing picture of the allegations. Detectives referenced reviewing photographs of injuries, surveillance video, witness statements, and interviews connected to the incidents involving DeLoach. One report referenced allegations that Brandes punched, kicked, restrained, and choked DeLoach during violent encounters. Detectives also documented observations of bruising and injuries while discussing the collection of evidence and witness accounts related to the case.
CBS Chicago later reported DeLoach alleged Brandes assaulted her again months later in an attack she said left her with devastating injuries. “He broke my neck and my back in five places,” DeLoach told the station while describing the alleged beating. She also claimed Brandes threatened to kill her child. CBS Chicago reported Brandes ultimately received a four-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to aggravated domestic battery.
An Illinois State Police criminal history report included in the records reviewed by Kenosha County Eye reflects felony conviction status and prison sentences tied to the Illinois aggravated domestic battery cases. The report documents felony convictions and sentences involving the Illinois Department of Corrections connected to the 2015 and 2016 Lake County prosecutions. The report also references an older arrest out of Springfield, Illinois dating back to 1998.
Despite the lengthy criminal history and prior prison time, Brandes currently remains free while the felony OWI case proceeds through Kenosha County Circuit Court. Court records show attorneys are continuing to litigate evidence issues, including discussions involving blood evidence and video review, and the case remains active more than two years after the initial arrest. Brandes is next scheduled to appear in court on June 4 at 8:30 a.m. before Judge Jason Rossell.
3 Responses
Scum
This guy is a monster! He needs to sober up and go to prison for awhile!
You all think that prison is the answer for everything. Most who go are more comfortable there than on the streets.