Former Dallas Cowboy Josh Brent, 25, was convicted of intoxicated manslaughter Wednesday for the death of former teammate and close friend, Jerry Brown. Brent faces up to 20 years in prison with the possibility of parole.
Former Cowboys player Josh Brent convicted of intoxication manslaughter for wreck that killed teammate Jerry Brown in 2012.
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) January 22, 2014
The car accident occurred in December 2012 when the two men were leaving a nightclub after a night of partying with other teammates and Brent lost control of his Mercedes in a Dallas suburb.
First responders on the scene of the accident reported that Brent was attempting to pull Brown’s body out of the enflamed car. Soon after the crash, Brent recorded a .18 percent blood-alcohol content, which is more than twice the legal limit in the state of Texas. Jurors saw police dash camera footage that showed Brent stumbling and sometimes misspeaking to officers during field sobriety tests.
Videos of Brent at the nightclub with bottles of champagne in hand and receipts for those bottles were shown to jurors as well.
The future of Josh Brent now rests in the hands of a sentencing judge. Brown’s mother has publicly forgiven Brent, and could potentially testify to grant leniency for Brent’s sentencing.
Brent was a former defensive tackle with the Cowboys who played in all games in the 2012 season until he retired from the NFL in 2012. Brown was a member of the Cowboys practice squad and was signed to Dallas’ roster in 2012.
