Investigators: Darius Miles provided gun in fatal shooting
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- Investigators said that a now-former University of Alabama basketball player charged with capital murder provided the gun used in the fatal shooting but that another man fired the weapon.
Investigators wrote in a court document that Darius Miles admitted to providing the handgun immediately before the shooting. Another man is accused by police of firing the gun and killing a young woman near the university's campus, according to court documents filed in Tuscaloosa.
Miles, 21, a junior reserve forward from Washington, D.C., and Michael Lynn Davis, 20, of Charles County, Maryland, are charged with capital murder in the shooting death of Jamea Harris. She was 23. The shooting occurred early Sunday morning on the Strip, a student-oriented business district of bars and restaurants near the Tuscaloosa campus, police said. Harris was sitting in the passenger seat of a car when she was struck by a bullet, investigators wrote in the court document.
Tuscaloosa police Capt. Jack Kennedy declined to say Tuesday where Miles got the gun. As of Jan. 1, Alabama stopped requiring a permit to carry a concealed handgun.
Miles and Davis remained in the Tuscaloosa County jail, and Kennedy said a probable cause hearing could take 30 to 60 days in a capital murder case.
The University of Alabama said in a statement Sunday that Miles is no longer on the basketball team. The fourth-ranked Crimson Tide played Vanderbilt on Tuesday night in Nashville, winning 78-66.
Tide coach Nate Oats said he reached out to Ray Lewis for advice on helping his team play two days after the shooting. Oats prayed with his players and shared a Bible verse suggested by the Pro Football Hall of Fame linebacker, whose daughter attended Alabama recently.
Alabama didn't make players available after the game, and Oats said he didn't see much emotion before tipoff.
"I did see some guys break down postgame,'' Oats said. "I think they've been bottling some stuff up. We've got a job to do. We've got to get to the game. We got to the game and took care of business, and then it's almost like a big relief. The game's over, and we can let out a sigh of relief.''
Vanderbilt coach Jerry Stackhouse crumpled the stat sheet when asked about what Alabama is dealing with, saying he couldn't "fathom that we even played this game.'' Stackhouse said he told his Commodores to appreciate the opportunity that someone they have competed against likely will never get again.
"Give them credit to be able to weather all of that stuff that's around them, to come out and perform the way they did tonight you know, hats off,'' Stackhouse said of Alabama. "They were the better team tonight.''
Defense lawyers for Miles released a statement on Monday saying Miles maintains his innocence and that he and his family "are heartbroken" over Harris' death.
"While Darius has been accused of being involved with this tragedy, he maintains his innocence and looks forward to his day in court," they said. "Our firm's own investigation is ongoing, and no further statement will be made at this time," attorneys William White, Clayton Tartt and Suzanne Norman from the Birmingham-based Boles Holmes White law firm wrote in the statement.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
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