Famed El Paso Attorney Jim Darnell to Represent UTEP’s Aaron Jones in DWI Case

By now UTEP Miner fans are likely aware that the face of the UTEP football program, Aaron Jones, was arrested on suspicion of driving drunk.

Jones was taken into custody by an El Paso County Sheriff following a traffic stop just after 1 a.m. on February 10. According to the El Paso Times, the Burges High School graduate was pulled over on the 2900 block of N. Mesa after he was observed swerving from lane to lane. The Times reports that Jones "had breath alcohol concentration levels of 0.15 and 0.139." The legal limit in Texas is 0.08.

Next for Jones is a pretrial hearing on March 29th where he will answer to a misdemeanor DWI charge.

A search of the El Paso County Criminal Records database reveals that Jones will be represented by well-known El Paso attorney Jim Darnell. Darnell is considered one of the top rated Criminal Defense attorneys in the city, and has represented numerous athletes and coaches over the years, including current UTEP basketball coach Tim Floyd whom he represented in 2010 when the NCAA was looking into allegations of wrongdoing during Floyd's tenure at USC.

Darnell also represented Johnny Manziel's when the then Texas A&M quarterback was accused of signing autographs for money in 2013.

Regarding Jones' situation, Darnell told the Times his client "was not intoxicated" and that the breathalyzer results "will turn out to be wrong."

Per the 2015-2016 UTEP Student-Athlete Handbook, a misdemeanor charge such as the one Jones is facing may result in suspension. There is no word if the university has reprimanded Jones up to this point, although head coach Sean Kugler has stated that Jones "will be held to the same standard as every other student-athlete in our program."