Dallas Cowboys kicker Brandon Aubrey and the jury on which he has been serving since last Tuesday in a domestic violence case in Tarrant County have found defendant Daniel Rincones guilty on one of two assault counts on which he was indicted and sentenced him to 65 years in prison.
Rincones, whom the jury found not guilty of assault-strangulation, was eligible for the lengthy sentence because of his status as a repeat offender. The defendant was found guilty in February 2019 of aggravated sexual assault. Rincones’ offenses were each committed against a member of his household, according to court records.
During jury selection, Judge David Hagerman, who presides in the 297th District Court, described the trial schedule and asked whether prospective jurors had travel plans.
Aubrey raised his hand.
“He said that he had to travel for work on Saturday,” recalled defense attorney Rob Keating, whom Rincones retained in the case.
The trip did not conflict with the plan for trial, Aubrey suggested.
“He did not mention being a Cowboy,” Keating said, although Judge Hagerman, counsel for the state and defense and perhaps others were familiar with Aubrey’s occupation.
The kicker’s work was not again discussed on the court’s record.
Keating declined to say whether, after the punishment verdict, the case’s prosecutors or defense attorneys talked with Aubrey in the jury room. Such informal, off-the-record meetings are common.
Aubrey was not the presiding juror, as the panel’s quarterback is known, Keating said.
“Tarrant County heard me and have helped me make it possible to protect others from an evil man,” victim Tiffany Rincones, Daniel Rincones’ ex-wife, told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram after the punishment verdict.
Aubrey returned to the Cowboys facility Wednesday afternoon after fulfilling his jury service. He was selected for the jury last Tuesday and missed scheduled practice with the team. He traveled to Frisco after trial days to get in work with his special teams unit. In the one game that Aubrey played while the case was ongoing, he converted on his one field goal attempt and each of his three extra point opportunities.
The 2023 All-Pro will on Thursday be back at the Cowboys facility in full.
