Dallas's Brent held in jail on $500-K bond

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A photo provided by the Irving, Texas, Police Department shows Dallas Cowboys player Josh Brent,. (TRIBUNE MEDIA MCT)

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Dallas players during a moment of silence honouring teammate Jerry Brown. (AL BEHRMAN / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS)

IRVING, Texas -- Dallas Cowboys defensive lineman Josh Brent remained in custody Sunday on $500,000 bond, one day after being charged with intoxication manslaughter after what police said was a drunken-driving accident that killed close friend and teammate Jerry Brown.

Brent's attorney called the bond amount excessive and beyond what the team had authorized him to post.

George Milner said he was working to reduce the bond, but was doubtful his client would be released from the Irving jail until Monday. Milner also said he was trying to get the Cowboys to authorize payment of a higher bond amount.

"I'd say the bond is 16 times higher than it would have been for anybody that doesn't play for the Dallas Cowboys," Milner said.

Irving police said Brent was speeding in the Dallas suburb when the vehicle he was driving hit a curb and flipped about 2:20 a.m. Saturday. The 25-year-old Brown was found unresponsive at the scene and was pronounced dead at a hospital.

Brent was arrested on suspicion of driving while intoxicated, and the charge was upgraded after Brown died. The manslaughter charge is a second-degree felony punishable by two to 20 years in prison.

Brown's grandmother, Theresa Clark of St. Louis, told The Associated Press on Sunday that Brown and Brent grew close while they were teammates at the University of Illinois from 2007 to 2009.

"I'm quite sure that Jerry thought the world of him and respected that young man," Clark said.

She remembered her eldest grandchild -- one of 20 -- as a man who would stop at nothing to realize his dream of becoming a professional football player.

"He lived for football. He loved it with all of his heart," she said, noting that Brown built a foundation of faith, hard work and discipline for his younger cousins to follow.

"They praised him," she said. "They were all really upset and crying" when they found out about his death.

Brown's mother, Stacey Jackson of Champaign, Ill., told the AP that Brown was an expectant father.

"I'm very excited and anxious to meet my granddaughter," she said. "She will be here in two more months. She is going to be well loved.

"I have scrapbooks and everything to show her what type of father she had. My youngest son, Jeremiah, will be there to push her on to ensure that she can be the best woman that she can be."

The accident happened hours before Brent was to be on a team flight to Cincinnati, where the Cowboys played the Bengals on Sunday.

Before the game, the Bengals held a moment of silence before the national anthem. Most Cowboys bowed their heads, and Dallas quarterback Tony Romo and several other players had their hands over their hearts.

On Fox's NFL Sunday show, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said the team had focused on Brown's death in the "last few hours." He didn't mention Brent.

"First of all we all know, but we remind ourselves that there is something more important than football, and this is life, and certainly the lost life of Jerry," Jones said. "On the other hand, they know the best way they can honour Jerry, because he was such a hard worker, so conscientious and enthusiastic about his career."

It marked the second straight week the NFL found itself dealing with a tragedy right before game day.

Last Saturday, Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Jovan Belcher fatally shot his girlfriend before killing himself in front of his coach and general manager.

-- The Associated Press

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition December 10, 2012 C3