Charges Filed in Cowboys Stadium DWI Case
By SCOTT GORDON
Updated 12:48 PM CST, Wed, Jun 17, 2009
Ten days after the general manager of the Cowboys Stadium was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving, formal charges have been filed in the case.
Jack Hill, 53, of Grand Prairie, was arrested at about 3:30 a.m. on June 7, about four hours after country singer George Strait finished his concert opening the facility.
Arlington police spokeswoman Tiara Ellis Richard on Tuesday said filing charges against Hill was not a "high priority," because he bonded out of jail quickly. Officers try to file paperwork on people in custody first, she said.
Most routine drunken-driving cases are forwarded to prosecutors within a few days, said Tarrant County assistant district attorney Richard Alpert, who supervises DWI cases.
Alpert said he sent an e-mail to Arlington police on Tuesday after he read numerous news accounts of Hill’s arrest but had not received the police report. He said police did not immediately respond to his inquiry.
He speculated there could have been many legitimate reasons for a delay, including that the arrest was high-profile and police supervisors wanted to carefully review the case first.
When first contacted by telephone about the status of the case, Richard declined to discuss it.
"If the case hasn't made it over there (to prosecutors), I can't say why," she said. "And even if I could, I wouldn't."
She also initially declined to check with investigating officers.
"I can check on the status of it, but I'm not going to, because that's not what we do,” Richard said.
A short time later, however, she called back and said the investigation was over but the case was "still open."
Hill was arrested on Randol Mill Road in front of the stadium after he was involved in a crash with a tractor-trailer, police said. Officers faulted the truck driver for the crash, but said Hill appeared intoxicated and failed a sobriety test.
He later performed a Breathalyzer test, but police declined to release the results.
Hill did not return a phone call or an e-mail seeking comment.
On Monday, Cowboys’ owner Jerry Jones said Hill’s job was not in jeopardy because of the misdemeanor arrest.
"I know we sure value Jack a lot and all he's done to help us get our stadium," Jones said. "So we feel good about that and that's all I know or can comment on."
Hill supervised construction of the $1.1 billion stadium before becoming its general manager.
First Published: Jun 16, 2009 7:05 PM CST
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