Fond Du Lac Man Charged With Homicide, Hate Crime In Death Of Motorcyclist

A Fond du Lac man has been accused of intentionally hitting and killing a motorcyclist with a pickup truck in the town of Taycheedah.

Daniel Navarro, 27, was charged Thursday with intentional homicide and a hate crime. According to Fond du Lac County Sheriff Ryan Waldschmidt, Navarro told officers he deliberately struck the motorcyclist with his father’s truck because he assumed the motorcyclist was white. The motorcyclist, 55-year-old Phillip Thiessen of Fond du Lac, died at the scene.

Thiessen grew up in Fond du Lac before joining the U.S. Marine Corp. He then worked as a police officer for 26 years in Fairfax, Virginia, according to his obituary. He returned to Fond du Lac where he worked briefly for the Wisconsin Department of Justice before retiring.

At a Thursday news conference, Waldschmidt said dispatch was notified of the crash just after 6:45 p.m. on Friday.

According to witnesses, Navarro was driving east on Winnebago Drive when he crossed over the center line and into Thiessen’s path. Navarro, who was uninjured, remained at the scene until officers arrived, Waldschmidt said.

According to Waldschmidt, Navarro told detectives all his problems were caused by white people. He said he often receives racist comments because he’s Hispanic. He also told detectives he believes he’s been the target of intentional poisoning and intimidation, Waldschmidt said. Navarro told detectives he believed he could escape his harassers by going to prison.

“Navarro said that if President Donald Trump and white people are going to create the world we are living in, he has no choice and people are going to have to die,” Waldschmidt said.

According to Waldschmidt, officials don’t believe Thiessen and Navarro knew each other or that Thiessen was targeted because he worked in law enforcement.

Navarro’s bond was set Thursday morning at $1 million, Fond du Lac County District Attorney Eric Toney said.

Toney declined to answer many questions about the case, including those on Navarro’s mental health status, citing the ongoing court proceedings. He reinforced that Navarro should be presumed innocent.

Toney and Waldschmidt said they expect the incident to trigger discussions in the community, but hope they’ll be conducted peacefully.