Cowboys’ Josh Brent, Jerry Brown were reportedly at private Dallas club before deadly crash

by Staff and wire reports

A TABC spokesperson said the two were at more than one location drinking that night.

Rex C. Curry

Exterior of Privae the Dallas night club where Dallas Cowboys' Josh Brent was reportedly at before getting in an auto accident that killed Jerry Brown Jr., who was a member of the teams' practice squad.

DALLAS — Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission spokeswoman Carolyn Beck confirmed that at least one Dallas club is being investigated in connection with the accident that killed Cowboys' Jerry Brown early Saturday morning.

Brown, a practice squad linebacker, died early Saturday morning in a one-vehicle crash in Irving. Cowboys nose tackle Josh Brent faces criminal charges in the crash.

“We’ve been told they were drinking at more than one location,” Beck said.

However, she declined to name specific businesses.

Dallas TV and radio stations reported that Brown and Brent had been at Privae Dallas, a private club where comedian Shawn Wayans performed Friday night.

Privae often has Cowboys as guests and had scheduled a birthday bash for Cowboys star Dez Bryant in November.

A Twitter account registered to Privae Dallas indicated that Cowboys were at the club Friday night. "#Cowboys!! Surprise Celeb guests!!" it said.

Privae is a members-only club. According to its website, Privae reserves "the right to refuse entry to anyone for any reason regardless of table reservations, guest list and/or VIP Pass." It has a "very DIFFICULT door policy. There is NO one size fits all approach and everyone is evaluated per individual and cannot be compared to others. A combination of three (3) things are taken into consideration: 1. Style; 2. Attitude; 3. Appearance"

Investigators are looking for any license violations, including serving alcohol to intoxicated customers.

Privae's human resources manager Joe Beamer released a statement Monday: "In regard to the auto accident that took the life of Dallas Cowboy Jerry Brown, we are saddened by the events of the weekend. Our hearts go out to Mr. Brown’s family and friends, and the entire Cowboys organization.

"Privae Dallas is a club that offers its guests a special level of privacy and often caters to celebrities. The safety of our guests is very important to us, and our staff is trained to follow the regulations set forth by the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission (TABC).

"We are fully cooperating with the TABC and Irving police, and respect that the event is under investigation. Because of that, we must ask that all questions be directed to the Irving police department and their team."

Tom Fox

Dallas Cowboys outside linebacker DeMarcus Ware (94) laid teammate Jerry Brown Jr's jersey over his thigh as he joined Cincinnati Bengals outside linebacker Manny Lawson (99) in the prayer circle following their 20-19 win at Paul Brown Stadium in Cincinnati, Sunday, December 9, 2012.

Police say Brent was intoxicated when he lost control of a 2007 Mercedes about 2 a.m. Saturday as he and Brown were driving home after a night of partying. Brown suffered fatal injuries as the car rolled over and caught fire near State Highway 114 and Loop 12.

Police said in an affidavit that they could “smell a moderate odor of alcohol emitting from … [Brent’s] breath” after the crash.

“He admitted to consuming alcohol at a club that he would not tell me the name of,” one officer wrote.

Brent initially refused to let his blood be drawn to determine his blood alcohol level, but after Brown’s death, he faced a mandatory test.

Police said Brent failed field sobriety tests, but spokesman John Argumaniz said blood test results will take a couple of weeks.

Brent pleaded guilty to a 2009 drunken-driving charge in Illinois and spent a month behind bars.