Dallas Cowboys defensive lineman Josh Brent won’t have to sit in jail until his September intoxication manslaughter trial, a judge decided Friday. Brent had faced that possibility after Dallas County prosecutors filed a motion this week to have his $100,000 bond declared insufficient.
The 25-year-old Brent is charged in the December drunken driving single-car crash that killed his best friend and teammate, Jerry Brown Jr.
Prosecutors said there was evidence that Brent had been around alcohol on at least four occasions while on bail and that the SCRAM device used to monitor his alcohol exposure had been tampered with at least 17 times.
But during Friday’s 45-minute hearing before State District Judge Robert D. Burns III, witnesses called by prosecutors said they had no evidence that Brent had consumed alcohol, nor could they say he had been in a place where massive amounts of alcohol were served, such as a bar.
The activity report for the SCRAM device from the time it was placed on Brent, Dec. 21, until Thursday made the point clearly: "The SCRAM system detected no alcohol consumption events and no tamper events for the reporting period."
Testimony did show, however, that on at least 22 separate occasions, Brent was not close enough to the SCRAM device modem, located at his home, to download the data necessary to detect his alcohol exposure.
He’s supposed to be there at 3 a.m. each morning for the automatic download. But officials said that even if the download is missed, the data is stored in the system for several months so that when the device is present for a later download, it transmits any alcohol use.
Burns could have revoked Brent’s bond and ordered him to jail immediately until his trial, now set for Sept. 23. Instead, the judge ordered Brent to use Soberlink, an additional alcohol monitoring device. Soberlink, which will be used along with SCRAM, can take a picture of the person using it when he or she blows into the machine to detect alcohol usage.
Brent is still on the Cowboys active roster but has not practiced with the team during the off-season. Sources have said that Brent will not play in 2013. Team officials had no comment about Friday’s proceedings.
(COURTESY OF DALLASNEWS.COM)
