Civilian felony charges against former Fort Jackson Drill Sergeant of the Year Armani Marquise Brown have been dismissed in El Paso County, Texas, closing out the state prosecution tied to a September 2024 domestic incident as newly available military court records provide a fuller account of the case.
Court records from the 327th District Court show that on February 10, 2026, both felony counts — aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and assault of a family or household member involving impeding breath or circulation — were dismissed after Brown entered pleas of not guilty. The publicly available docket does not specify the reason for dismissal.
The dismissal comes months after Brown was sentenced at a general court-martial convened at Fort Bliss, Texas. Newly posted records from the U.S. Army Court of Criminal Appeals reveal that Brown was originally charged with attempted murder under Article 80 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice for allegedly shooting at his spouse with a handgun on or about September 19, 2024. That charge was later dismissed.
Additional specifications under Article 128b alleged that Brown strangled his spouse, grabbed her by the neck, pushed her, punched her, and communicated threats after firing the weapon. Most of those specifications were also dismissed.
According to the Statement of Trial Results, Brown pleaded guilty to one specification of domestic violence involving wrongfully and willfully discharging a handgun in the direction of his spouse under circumstances endangering human life. He elected to be tried by military judge alone.
On October 30, 2025, the military judge sentenced Brown to 40 months of confinement, reduction to the grade of E-1, and a bad-conduct discharge. The sentence was consistent with the terms of a plea agreement that set confinement parameters between 36 and 48 months. The Entry of Judgment was entered December 14, 2025.
Sgt. 1st Class Armani M. Brown, a 19D cavalry scout and former drill sergeant with 1st Battalion, 34th Infantry Regiment, was convicted Oct. 30 at Fort Bliss of one specification of domestic violence under Article 128b of the UCMJ. A military judge sentenced him to confinement, reduction to E-1, and a bad-conduct discharge, according to court-martial results.
Brown, who once represented Fort Jackson as its Drill Sergeant of the Year in 2021 and appeared in Army publications highlighting his leadership, is now serving his sentence in a military correctional facility. The Army did not respond to prior requests for additional court-martial documents before the full case file became publicly available through the ACCA docket system.
The complete record now clarifies that the case began with more severe allegations, including attempted murder, before being narrowed through a plea agreement at general court-martial. With the dismissal of the Texas felony case, Brown no longer faces pending civilian charges related to the September 2024 incident.
He remains confined under his military sentence.
© 2025 TheSaltySoldier.com. All rights reserved. Reproduction or redistribution of this article is strictly prohibited without written permission.
