Dallas Cowboys defensive lineman Josh Brent was indicted by a Texas grand jury Wednesday and formally charged with intoxication manslaughter in the one-car crash on December 8 that resulted in the death of friend Jerry Brown, who was on the team’s practice squad.
The indictment says that Brent was speeding and had two times the legal alcohol limit in his system when he lost control of his vehicle in Irving, near Dallas. Brent has been out of jail on $100,000 bond.
Brent faces a maximum of 20 years in prison for intoxication manslaughter charges. He also Brent could be eligible for probation.
District attorney Debbie Denmon says no court dates have been scheduled.
Brent has received support from the team and Brown’s mother, Stacey Jackson, has been at the forefront of the Cowboys’ support of Brent. She asked the players at a memorial service for her son to do as much as they could to keep Brent involved with the team.
Meanwhile, the Cowboys have said it will support Brent, while, at the same time, emphasizing that they do not condone drinking and driving.
Brent was on the sidelines for most of the Dallas Cowboys-Pittsburgh Steelers game a few weeks ago, but left in the third quarter because he didn’t want to be a distraction, Garrett said. The Cowboys were criticized during the broadcast of the game for allowing Brent on the sidelines.
“It becomes a real sensitive topic to a lot of people when you’re in a public place like the game,” Garrett said. “There were no bad intentions other than to support Josh as part of our football team. This is a game and you need to be here. That’s what our players wanted to convey to him and they really encouraged him to come to the game. I thought Josh handled it beautifully the way that he came and then when he felt like there were some issues he felt the right thing to do was to leave. But we’re going to support him in every way that we can. We also will be sensitive to this kind of issue.”
