Josh Brent Indicted For Intoxication Manslaughter
Updated 12/26 - 10:30 p.m.
DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - Dallas Cowboys Defensive Lineman Josh Brent has officially been indicted by a Dallas County grand jury, charged with Intoxication Manslaughter in a December 8 crash along Highway 114 in Irving that killed teammate Jerry Brown.
Brent, who had been placed on the Cowboys inactive roster, has remained with the team despite the charges facing him.
Brent was released from Jail December 9, the day he was expected to start in place of the injured Jay Ratliff against the Cincinnati Bengals. He did not travel with the team for that game, but did appear on the Cowboys sideline the next week in their home game against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
There has been no trial date set in Brent's case, and the Cowboys have not commented on the case or taken any additional action against Brent.
Brown's mother has been very supportive of Brent, and has told the team to support him.
In a statement to CBS 11, NFL spokesman Greg Aiello responded to questions about actions the league might take against Brent with "The Cowboys have put him on their reserve list so he is not eligible to play. He will be subject to league discipline at the appropriate time."
Brent's attorney George Milner told 1080 KRLD the indictment wasn't unexpected. "In a situation like this you know there is going to be an indictment, there is not any conceivable way there would not be. So yes, we expected this and are prepared for this."
In the arrest report, a copy of which was obtained by CBS 11, Brent's blood-alcohol level 0.189 -- more than twice the legal limit.
The report also says Brent and Brown were not wearing their seatbelts, but they were not ejected from the 2007 Mercedes Brent was driving.
According to the document, Brent had no proof of insurance in the car. The report also shows Brent had an expired and suspended Illinois drivers license.
An accident investigator says Brent "was intoxicated, speeding over the limit, and failed to drive in a single lane."
The report says while traveling on the 114 service road, Brent hit the right curb, causing him to lose control. Then he steered to the left and back to the right over-correcting, causing him to slide out of control into the right curb, then slide into a ditch, overturn, and slide on the roof back onto the roadway, where it came to a stop.
A search warrant also obtained by CBS 11 show items found inside Brent's Mercedes included an unopened bottle of cognac and a number of receipts. Former Dallas County prosecutor Tony Shook says there is precedent for confiscating the receipts. "More receipts could be very significant depending on what they're for. If they're for alcohol on at night, they're going to be very significant. If it's alcohol on other occasions, it could be helpful to the state."
Additional warrants show Brent's cell phone and iPad were also confiscated as possible digital evidence in the case.
Brent was originally arrested on a $500,000 bond which was reduced to $100,000 with the condition that he wear an ankle monitor to detect if he has been drinking.
