Jury considers man’s punishment for DWI crash that killed Cha’Quon Jeffrey

A Wichita County jury began hearing the case Monday against Brandon Wright, an Iowa Park man who has pleaded guilty to intoxication manslaughter.

The jury had to decide Wright’s sentence.

Wright was released from the Wichita County Jail on $100,000 bail on Monday, according to online jail records.

A serious collision in the rainy pre-dawn hours of June 3, 2023 claimed the life of Cha’Quon Jeffrey and seriously injured his passenger, Veronica Diaz.

Wright had a blood alcohol level of 0.238 at the time of the wreck, which is well above the legal limit of 0.08 in Texas, according to affidavits filed in the case.

Wright, now 41, pleaded guilty Oct. 18 to a second-degree felony charge that carries a penalty of up to 20 years in prison.

In arguing for a stiff sentence, lead prosecutor Dobie Kosub told jurors that Wright is a felon with five convictions to his name.

“He has been shown mercy time and time again,” Kosub said.

But the prosecutor pointed out that Jeffrey had “paid the ultimate price” for Wright’s actions.

Affidavits filed in the case revealed that Wright had left Legends Roadhouse near Sheppard Air Force Base and traveled the wrong way on Spur 325 before hitting Jeffrey’s car head-on.

James Paul Evans, an accident reconstruction expert, testified that the black box information showed Wright’s pickup truck was traveling at 75 mph at the time of the crash.

Photos and video showed the impact decimated Jeffrey’s car. Some of Jeffrey’s supporters left the courtroom during the graphic displays.

To emphasize Wright’s criminal history, Kosub called Wichita Falls Police Officer Casey Kirkpatrick to the witness stand. Kirkpatrick testified that he and a partner were sent to the scene of a fight in 2001 and came under gunfire from Wright.

Wright was sentenced to eight years in prison for that crime.

Court records show Wright has previous convictions for aggravated assault, assault, aggravated assault and deadly conduct.

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This article originally appeared on Wichita Falls Times Record News: Jury considers punishment for DWI crash that killed Cha’Quon Jeffrey