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Alabama basketball star and NBA prospect Brandon Miller has been linked to a murder case against teammate Darius Miles after providing a handgun used to kill a woman in Tuscaloosa last month, according to police.
On Tuesday, Tuscaloosa detective Branden Culpepper testified that Miles texted Miller on January 15, asking his then-teammate to bring his gun to an off-campus area, where 23-year-old Jamea Jonae Harris was later shot and killed. Miller allegedly complied, driving the gun to Miles and another man, Michael Lynn Davis, who are both facing capital murder charges for Harris’ death.
When Miller arrived at the scene, he contacted Miles in a text message, writing that ‘the heat is in the hat,’ and adding that ‘there’s one in the head,’ according to Culpepper. As the Detective explained, Miller was allegedly indicating that there was a gun in a hat inside his car with a round in its chamber.
While Miles has been dismissed from the Crimson Tide basketball team ahead of his murder trial, Miller has not been charged by authorities.
Tuscaloosa chief deputy D.A. Paula Whitley declined to tell AL.com why Miller wasn’t charged, saying: ‘That’s not a question I can answer. There’s nothing we could charge him with.’
Alabama basketball star and NBA prospect Brandon Miller (pictured) has been linked to a murder case against teammate Darius Miles after allegedly providing a handgun used to kill a woman in Tuscaloosa last month, according to police
Darius Miles (left) and Michael Lynn Davis (right) have both been charged with capital murder. Miles has since been removed from the Crimson Tide basketball team
The school’s athletic department was already aware of the allegations against Miller.
‘We knew about that,’ Crimson Tide basketball coach Nate Oats told reporters Tuesday. ‘Can’t control everything anybody does outside of practice. Nobody knew that was going to happen. … Brandon hasn’t been in any type of trouble, nor is he in any type of trouble in this case. Wrong spot at the wrong time.’
Oats insisted Tuesday that the program has been ‘fully cooperating with law enforcement the entire time.’
He also said the ‘whole situation is sad.’
The 6-foot-9 Miller is the Tide’s leading scorer at 18.7 points a game, and is projected to be a lottery pick in June’s NBA Draft. Both ESPN and NBADraft.net have Miller being taken among the top five picks.
Last month, the University of Alabama said in a statement that Miles was no longer on the basketball team.
Miles has maintained his innocence, and his lawyers say he is ‘heartbroken’ over the tragedy.
‘While Darius has been accused of being involved with this tragedy, he maintains his innocence and looks forward to his day in court,’ Miles’ attorneys said in January.
Attorneys for Miles and Davis both requested that their respective clients me released on bond at Tuesday’s preliminary hearing.
Tuscaloosa County District Judge Joanne Jannik denied the request, ruling that there is enough evidence against Miles and Davis to send the case to a grand jury for a potential indictment.
Both Miles and Davis were sobbing at the end of Tuesday’s hearing, according to AL.com.
Harris, a mother to a five-year-old son, was visiting her cousin and boyfriend in Tuscaloosa when she was shot and killed in the early hours of January 15.
‘She has a 5-year-old son that is still waiting for his mother to come home,’ DeCarla Heard, Harris’ mother, told reporters. ‘I want justice for my grandson.’
Jamea Harris, 23, of the Birmingham area was shot and killed, police have confirmed
Alabama’s basketball program was already aware of the allegations against Miller. ‘We knew about that,’ Crimson Tide basketball coach Nate Oats (pictured) told reporters Tuesday. ‘Can’t control everything anybody does outside of practice. Nobody knew that was going to happen. … Brandon hasn’t been in any type of trouble, nor is he in any type of trouble in this case. Wrong spot at the wrong time’
Tuscaloosa and University of Alabama police were dispatched to the Walk of Champions at Bryant Denny Stadium, the school’s football field, at 1:45am on January 15 when a shooting was reported.
It was there that police encountered Harris’ boyfriend, Cedric Johnson, who said he sped away from the shooting scene after their vehicle had been struck by gunfire. Johnson told police that he returned fire in self defense and may have hit one of the suspects, believed to be Davis.
Investigators later determined that the shooting occurred on the 400 block of Grace Street off of University Boulevard, near many bars and restaurants.
Harris’s mother, Heard, previously told AL.com that the suspects tried talking to her daughter, who told them that she had a boyfriend and wasn’t interested in their advances.
Court records obtained by AL.com state that Davis fired the deadly shots, while Miles admitted to providing Davis with the gun.
Miles was originally dropped off at the scene by Miller, who did not stay because the line at a local club, Twelve25, was too long, according to testimony at Tuesday’s hearing
Miles was originally dropped off at the scene by Miller, who did not stay because the line at a local club, Twelve25, was too long, according to testimony at Tuesday’s hearing.
The initial encounter occurred after Harris, Johnson and Harris’ cousin, Asia Humphrey left the club for a bite at a nearby grill, where they ran into Davis, according to police.
Davis tried to talk to Harris, but was told by Johnson that she was not interested in him, Culpepper said, adding that it ‘got a little elevated.’
Miles allegedly texted Miller, saying, ‘I need my joint,’ which police say is slang for a gun.
Miles has maintained his innocence, and his lawyers say he is ‘heartbroken’ over the tragedy
After Miller returned, Miles and Davis walked to his car before approaching the victims, according to police.
Davis then said, ‘I told you I was going to get you,’ according to Tuesday’s testimony, and fired at least eight shots into the Jeep.
Harris was struck in her face.
Miller’s car was hit with two bullets in the subsequent gunfire exchange.
The victims fled in the Jeep to the Walk of Champions, where they encountered police. Harris was pronounced dead soon thereafter.
Police say they received a 911 call from Miles, who said his friend, Davis, had been shot.
Miles told police that he didn’t know how or where it happened.
In subsequent police interviews, Miles said he and his girlfriend picked up Davis after the shooting.
Police later told Miles that the incident was caught on a nearby surveillance camera, prompting Miles to admit that he was at the scene of the shooting.
Miles has admitted to contacting Miller to retrieve his gun, but said that Davis was the one who got it from Miller’s vehicle, according to police.
Davis claimed to be drunk and struggled to remember how the shooting took place.
Defense attorneys have suggested that Miles and Davis could have been in fear for their lives after initially seeing a gun in the victims’ vehicle.
‘The reason that the gun was provided to Michael Davis was for protection,’ attorney Mary Turner argued Tuesday.
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